Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme: progress report 2023 to 2024

5. Scottish Government progress towards actioning the CCC’s Independent Assessment recommendations

The CCC’s most recent independent assessment of progress in adapting to climate change in Scotland provided a detailed set of specific recommendations for the Scottish Government to strengthen adaptation across sectors. Our assessment of progress in addressing these recommendations is provided below. For the recommendations we have currently taken under advisement, while no notable progress has been made since the reports publication in November 2023, the Scottish Government is closely reviewing how we can implement these adaptation actions into the upcoming SNAP3 due in Autumn 2024.

5.1 Cross-cutting

CCC Recommendation

Include a national assessment of the scale of current and future risks from weather-related cascading infrastructure failures in the Scottish National Adaptation Plan, as well as specific policies and/or actions to plan for, and manage, risks from interdependent infrastructure.

SG Progress

The National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA) outlines the most serious risks that could impact UK’s safety, security and critical systems. Scottish Government is working closely and collaboratively with the UK Government’s Criticalities Process. This process provides the opportunity for a shared understanding of the most critical infrastructure in the UK, which will enable government to better understand and manage the risks to our Critical National Infrastructure. Scottish Government is particularly focused on devolved CNI sectors where we have devolved responsibilities.

CCC Recommendation

Explore policy opportunities to ensure decisions around the location of new infrastructure consider future climate change impacts, before the next National Planning Framework, as this was not explicitly considered in NPF4.

SG Progress

The National Planning Framework (NPF4), adopted in February 2023, sets out the policies and proposals for the development and use of land. Along with the Local Development Plan for any given area, the NPF4 is part of the statutory development plan. As such NPF4 directly influences all planning decisions including new infrastructure proposals.

NPF4 includes Policy 2 climate mitigation and adaptation, which sets out a requirement that proposals are ‘… sited and designed to adapt to current and future risks from climate change.’ Additionally, NPF4 policies on nature, biodiversity, blue and green infrastructure and flood risk and water management further strengthen the resilience requirements placed on development proposals.

CCC Recommendation

Engage with UK Government to ensure that regulators are given consistent climate resilience remits across the UK, including all devolved administrations.

SG Progress

The Scottish Government will work in partnership with governments across the UK to address our shared adaptation challenges. The Scottish Government does not believe that this requires consistent regulatory remits, given the different contexts, climate risks and devolution settlements across the UK’s four nations.

CCC Recommendation

Ensure the key data gaps regarding exposure, vulnerability and adaptation are closed across all sectors with the provision of a comprehensive, well-funded and integrated monitoring and evaluation system operational from the start of the next Scottish National Adaptation Plan.

SG Progress

The Scottish Government has set out an ambition for Scotland to have the most developed and transparent adaptation monitoring system in the UK.

To help deliver this, we have recently proposed a new National Performance Framework objective on climate change, which includes an explicit focus on climate resilience. The draft Scottish National Adaptation Plan 2024-29 proposes a more detailed and practical monitoring framework. This framework includes

• annual reports to the Scottish Parliament with a set of agreed quantitative indicators to monitor the Adaptation Plan’s objectives.
• a baseline at the start, and report on progress at the end, of the Adaptation Plan’s 5-year period to track Scotland's longer-term adaptation outcomes.

We are also considering how to further integrate evaluation and learning across the plan period in a way that adds value to the statutory independent assessments of progress.

5.2 Buildings

CCC Recommendation

Ensure that support for adaptation alongside decarbonisation is included in key building policies such as the Housing to 2040 Strategy and route map and the Scottish Green Public Sector Estate Decarbonisation Scheme.

SG Progress

In taking forward the housing conditions commitments made in Housing to 2040, Better Homes Division is planning a public consultation in 2025 on a new tenure neutral housing standard and a review of Home Reports in 2024. Both will include consideration of flood resilience and adaptations. The Scottish Government is exploring potential routes for further integrating adaptation support into other key building policies.

CCC Recommendation

Address data gaps on impacts to buildings and adaptation actions by a) utilising already available data to track the resilience of the building stock (e.g. through the insurance sector) to monitor impacts on buildings from extreme weather, b) undertaking a programme of regular indoor temperature monitoring of samples of existing buildings in at-risk locations to better understand the extent of current overheating and c) consider introducing home resilience reporting that include assessments of flood and overheating resilience.

SG Progress

The final SNAP3 will identify indicators and data to monitor progress across its outcomes and objectives. In addition, the 2024 Scottish Government review of Home Reports will include consideration of flood resilience and adaptations.

CCC Recommendation

Facilitate access to finance to install proactive adaptation measures for overheating and flood resilience in buildings. This could be via grant schemes or green finance for private owners, with public funding targeted at low-income households or buildings with vulnerable occupants, alongside energy efficiency retrofit.

SG Progress

It is primarily the property owner’s responsibility to manage flood risk and overheating. However, to help enable uptake of installation of any flood resilience measures, some local authorities offer discounted products through bulk purchasing. The Scottish Government Scottish Government will soon consult on a Flood Resilience Strategy with a focus on creating flood resilient places.

CCC Recommendation

Respond to the outcomes of the Living with Flooding action plan and recommendations of the Property Flood Resilience Delivery Group to develop a vision for identifying at-risk buildings, awareness raising, training and engagement on property-level flood protection. Consider developing localised targets for property-level installations to accelerate uptake.

SG Progress

The Building Standards Division is currently reviewing the Building Standards Technical Handbooks, focusing on property flood resilience for new buildings and new building work that is being undertaken in areas identified as being at risk of flooding.

CIWEM provided free places to complete the Foundation Module of their Property Flood Resilience training at the Scottish Governments Flood Risk Management Conference in Edinburgh on 7-8 February 2024.

5.3 Business

CCC Recommendation

Address data gaps on Scottish business preparedness, availability of capital and insurance for adaptation, and the effectiveness of business adaptation actions. Integrate adaptation into Government’s business engagement plans to improve awareness of data for business to monitor climate risk.

SG Progress

ONS’s Business Insights & Conditions Survey provides some data on Scottish businesses and Scottish Government's Economic Development Analysis Team are engaged with ONS to inform the survey's questions going forward, with changes planned this year. DITI are also working with the Association of British Insurers on wider aspects of Insurance.

The Adaptation Scotland programme continues to provide advice and support to help businesses prepare for, and build resistance to, the impacts of climate change. Adaptation Scotland support in 2024/25 will focus on the development of new climate ready business tools and resources in key sectors of the economy.

CCC Recommendation

Set out targets and supporting measures for reducing water use by business. Publish data collected by SEPA on water abstractions annually.

SG Progress

The Scottish Government conducted a public consultation on water, wastewater and drainage policy from November 2023 to February 2024. The responses from this will be analysed as part of water sector policy development.

The Scottish Government are working closely with SEPA to process and publish data returns from 2022 and 2023.

CCC Recommendation

Integrate supply chain resilience to climate hazards into the Supply Chain Development Programme, including funding research to assess and monitor resilience of essential supply chains to climate shocks and establishing a process to engage businesses and enterprise agencies to develop contingency planning.

SG Progress

The Supply Chain Development Programme (SCDP) takes a targeted approach to strengthening Scottish supply chains. It works with the Enterprise Agencies and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland to align enterprise and innovation support with other public sector spending. Its current focus is on opportunities for increased Scottish manufacturing of products required for the net zero transition. The approach set out in the UK government’s Critical Imports Strategy (published Jan 2024) more closely fits this recommendation from the CCC.

CCC Recommendation

Engage with UK Government to strengthen adaptation reporting requirements across the UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements.

SG Progress

The Scottish Government has taken this recommendation under advisement. Recognising that the regulation of financial services is a matter reserved to the UK Government, the draft SNAP3 proposes support for the roll out of mandatory climate risk-disclosure for large and listed private sector organisations in Scotland, aligned with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TFCD) framework.

5.4 Community Preparedness & Response

CCC Recommendation

Scottish Government should continue to support the implementation and evaluation of the Adaptation Scotland programme, upscaling the delivery of initiatives for place-based and cross-sectoral adaptation and including support for vulnerable areas and sectors.

SG Progress

The Scottish Government-funded Adaptation Scotland programme continues to support communities, public sector and businesses to adapt to climate change. This includes long-term ongoing work to support place-based partnerships for adaptation action across Scotland. A new website is planned for Autumn 2024 aligned with supporting the delivery of SNAP3.

CCC Recommendation

Scottish Government should review the funding model for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and other major incident responders to provide multi-year funding for long-term planning, including monitoring of weather-related incident response.

SG Progress

The Scottish Government receives annual funding from the UK Government and the Scottish Parliament votes annually on Draft Budget Acts. It is therefore not possible to set multi-year budgets. However, the Scottish Government is in regular contact with SFRS and other responder organisations which allows for planning of response and assets.

CCC Recommendation

Scottish Government should provide clear criteria for when central government funding will be made available to local authorities after severe weather events and include emergency funding for resilient repairs.

SG Progress

The Bellwin Scheme allows ministers to make additional revenue support available to councils to assist with their immediate and unforeseen costs in dealing with the aftermath of emergency incidents. Payments are only made once the local authority has exceeded its annual Bellwin Threshold which represents 0.2% of their net revenue budget for the year in question. This is the amount local authorities are deemed to set aside to cover unforeseen emergencies across each financial year.

CCC Recommendation

Scottish Government should evaluate measures rolled-out in response to the Storm Arwen review, including the impact of Ready Scot alerts and the winter preparedness programme, and roll-out of collection of vulnerability data.

SG Progress

The measures rolled out following Storm Arwen have largely now been mainstreamed within the regional resilience planning groups across Scotland. Other specific national recommendations, including the impact of our Ready Scotland activity and the use of vulnerability data, will be evaluated within the coming year.

CCC Recommendation

Address data gaps on adapting heritage assets to climate change. For example, monitoring grant money used for adaptation and tracking how many at risk sites or buildings have been adapted for climate change.

SG Progress

HES and OCEA have developed an indicator that can be used in assessing adaptation progress in SNAP3, as follows: # and/or % of HES grant applications that refer to adaptation, for annual monitoring. This aligns with Our Past, Our Future (OPOF): the Strategy for Scotland's Historic Environment (Under Priority 1, Outcome 2: The historic environment is more climate resilient.)

HES Grants Team are developing a drop-down list in the online grants application system to enable applicants to self-identify adaptation related action. In 2024-25, the HES Grants programme will be focused on a climate change theme.

HES plans to continue to undertake research and deliver advice and guidance on climate change adaptation to the historic environment in support of SNAP3 and OPOF, and this will be reflected in a new HES Climate Action Plan 2025-2030.

5.5 Energy

CCC Recommendation

Work with UK Government and key energy system stakeholders, building on CCC recommendations, to understand what is required to ensure a resilient energy system in Scotland, identify resilience gaps and prepare a plan for addressing these. This plan should identify actions that can be taken within Scotland, as well as opportunities to influence UK Government policy, to respond to the multiple climate risks affecting energy generation, transmission and distribution in Scotland.

SG Progress

The Scottish Government has recognised the need to keep building network and community resilience to electricity system failures and their cascading impacts and has continued to work with the UK Government to ensure all climate and resilience risks are fully accounted for in decision making. Potential improvements to Scotland’s resilience to severe winter weather have been identified including new processes to evaluate Scotland’s winter preparedness annually and increase integration of the voluntary sector into resilience capabilities.

CCC Recommendation

Address national data gaps on asset resilience. This should include monitoring the vulnerability of energy assets (including flood resilience, condition of power system infrastructure, heat resilience, ground conditions and abstraction restrictions) and monitoring weather-related outages (including the frequency and duration of the outage and the number of properties and businesses affected).

SG Progress

The final SNAP3 will identify indicators and data to monitor progress across its outcomes and objectives. For further detail, please see the response to the cross-cutting recommendation on monitoring and evaluation.

5.6 Finance

CCC Recommendation

Undertake research, engagement, and consultation with business and financial institutions to assess the extent to which improved access to finance for adaptation is needed in Scotland. Based on this, integrate appropriate adaptation finance policy into major economic development strategies where needed, and include finance more prominently in the next Scotland national adaptation plan.

SG Progress

The Scottish Government has taken this recommendation under advisement. Building on the 2022 Guide to Adaptation Finance and associated business cases, the Scottish Government funded the Adaptation Scotland Programme to produce a 2023 insights and opportunities paper on developing adaptation finance in Scotland. The published report included potential pathways which could support greater responsible, private investment in adaptation. Consultation on the draft Adaptation Plan has included engagement on the barriers to responsible private investment to date, and conditions required to leverage greater investment for adaptation beyond public funds with the private sector, business support organisations and industry bodies. Further engagement with financial institutions is proposed through SNAP3.

CCC Recommendation

Include adaptation in investment frameworks used for major development strategies and long-term strategic approaches to improving regional economies, such as the Regional Growth Deals.

SG Progress

Guidance utilising international carbon management best practice has been developed and issued to all 12 Regional Growth Deals since 2021. This includes a specific objective of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) whole life carbon approach (one of the two carbon management methodologies acknowledged) which focus on long-term thinking past project practical completion, concerning the maintenance, durability and adaptability of building components and the project as a whole. Additionally, one of the notable emerging decarbonisation tools and methodologies listed in the guidance (PAS 2080:2016 Carbon management in infrastructure) was revised in 2023 (PAS 2080:2023 Carbon management in buildings and infrastructure) to include consideration of other demands and co-benefits such as climate adaptation and alignment with a 1.5°C scenario.

Within the Deals programme, enhanced climate assessments are recommended within the Environmental Impact Assessment process since 2017. The Environmental Impact Assessments for the Deals include a description of factors likely to be significantly affected by the development which includes a description of impacts relevant to adaptation under Regulation 4(3).

These considerations provide an initial step towards integrating adaptation into our long-term strategic approach to regional growth deals. The Scottish Government are taking this recommendation under further advisement and will continue to explore ways in which we can integrate adaptation into our investment frameworks.

CCC Recommendation

Engage with UK public financial institutions (such as the UK Infrastructure Bank, British Business Bank, UK Export Finance, and British International Investment) and Scotland’s financial services representatives (Scottish Financial Enterprise) to create adaptation finance strategies, setting out how they will independently and collectively ensure that no viable climate adaptation project fails for lack of finance or insurance.

SG Progress

Many financial institutions are signed up to the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (established during Glasgow COP26) to help support financial services firms transition to net zero.

CCC Recommendation

Engage with the UK Government to strengthen adaptation reporting requirements across the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements.

SG Progress

The Scottish Government has taken this recommendation under advisement. Recognising that the regulation of financial services is a matter reserved to the UK Government, the draft SNAP3 proposes support for the roll out of mandatory climate risk-disclosure for large and listed private sector organisations in Scotland, aligned with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TFCD) framework.

5.7 Food Security

CCC Recommendation

Ensure the Food Security Unit’s remit covers risks from climate change and set out measures to ensure resilience of food supply from extreme weather in Scotland and internationally, while safeguarding against impacts from climate-related disruption of supply chains.

SG Progress

The Food Security Unit considers climate-related risks in its workstreams including food security monitoring work. We are also considering the business resilience support that is currently available, to see where engagement and communication with the sector could be further improved.

CCC Recommendation

Embed monitoring of current food safety risks posed by climate change into the existing risk monitoring process.

SG Progress

This recommendation is largely addressed by FSS's existing food surveillance and monitoring programmes. Food surveillance is designed using intelligence generated through horizon scanning activities, which monitor global trends in food safety risks, including those which may have arisen due to climate change, and their potential risks to the food supply chain and public health in Scotland. Food Standards Scotland is also the Competent Authority for Official Controls to determine the safety of marine waters used for the harvesting of live bivalve molluscs (LBMs) in Scotland. This includes monitoring for certain species of marine phytoplankton and their biotoxins, which are expected to increase in prevalence as ocean temperatures rise. FSS collaborates with the Food Standards Agency, relevant parts of Scottish and UK Government, and the scientific community to share data and intelligence on these risks and takes part in periodic reviews to assess the impacts of climate change on the UK food system.

5.8 Health

CCC Recommendation

Address data gaps on adaptation for health and social care, including conducting or commissioning time series analyses of temperature-related mortality data and establishing monitoring programmes to gather data on disruptions to healthcare due to flooding and overheating.

SG Progress

Public Health Scotland have committed to carry out a study to explore the feasibility of developing climate related health indicators for heat and cold for Scotland.

CCC Recommendation

The third Scottish National Adaptation Plan should include the broader impacts of climate change on health by ensuring that actions across other relevant policy areas consider health, wellbeing and equity.

SG Progress

The recommendation that the third Scottish National Adaptation Plan should include the broader impacts of climate change on health fully aligns with the aims of the Care & Wellbeing Portfolio. A commitment that will fulfil this was included in the draft SNAP3 that was published on 31 January for public consultation.

This commits the Scottish Government and PHS to work together to complete a Health Impact Assessment of the SNAP3. This will be completed over two stages with the scoping stage being completed in early 2024 during the public consultation period to support the final SNAP3 publication. Then the wider impacts will be assessed within 12 months of the plans publication to support delivery.

CCC Recommendation

Assess vulnerability to existing and future climate risks across the social care sector. Following this develop a long-term, cross-sector approach on how risks in the social care sector can be addressed.

SG Progress

Local Authorities are responsible for delivering social work and social care services and play a critical role in responding to the climate emergency. The Scottish Government recognises the need to work with local government to support the social care sector – whether in house or commissioned services - to play its part in tackling climate change as well as on climate change adaptation. Going forward, the introduction of the National Care Service will provide further opportunities to build climate change considerations into the way that social care services are planned, commissioned and delivered.

CCC Recommendation

Assess the changing risks to vector-borne diseases from climate change (including those from both mosquitos and ticks). This should consider areas for future monitoring and surveillance and whether a dedicated strategy is needed.

SG Progress

The Scottish Health Protection Network Tick Borne Disease Group reconvened for the first time post Covid in April 2023. The Group is intended to ensure the timely, efficient and effective co-ordination of new and existing programmes, national developments and initiatives to achieve a reduction in cases of tick-borne diseases in Scotland. The group have been asked to consider options for increased surveillance as part of their work plan.

The Scottish Government Infectious Disease Policy Team have established a cross-policy group with colleagues from other policy areas, Climate Change, Animal Health, Agriculture, Biodiversity and Wildlife Management, to ensure alignment in policies and sharing of information and knowledge.

5.9 ICT and Telecoms

CCC Recommendation

Address data gaps for telecoms and ICT as part of the Scottish National Adaptation Plan monitoring and evaluation framework. Develop a research programme to collect data against these indicators where none is available.

SG Progress

Recognising that significant areas of telecoms and data infrastructure are reserved, the Scottish Government will engage with the UK government where programmes are developed to collect relevant data.

The Scottish Government work closely with UK Government, Industry, Ofcom and other Devolved Administrations through the Electronic Communications – Resilience and Response Group (EC-RRG) whose aim is to develop and maintain cooperation between the Communications Sector and Government on issues regarding resilience and emergency planning. The EC-RRG work together both in planning for and responding to disruptive events, as well as promoting the availability and resilience of electronic communications across the UK, with Climate Change Adaptation being factored into these conversations and work streams.

The final SNAP3 will identify indicators and data to monitor progress across its outcomes and objectives. For further detail, please see the response to the cross-cutting recommendation on monitoring and evaluation.

5.10 Nature

CCC Recommendation

Scottish Government should publish full details on how the new Agricultural Payments Scheme will support the delivery of outcomes outlined in the draft Biodiversity Strategy and latest River Basin Management Plan. This should include clear guidance on which actions that reduce vulnerability to climate change will be eligible for payments under the scheme.

SG Progress

We continue to take forward actions to deliver the ambitions set in the Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture, where Scotland will have a Future Support Framework that delivers climate mitigation and adaptation, nature restoration and high-quality food production. The Future Support Framework proposes mechanisms that will be incorporated into the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill to enable conditional payments under 4 tiers: Base, Enhanced, Elective, and Complementary. In the future at least half of all funding for farming and crofting will be targeted towards outcomes for climate mitigation and adaptation.

The route map was published in February 2023 and provides further clarity on how we intend to deliver the ambitions set out in the Vision, alongside the proposed timescales for information and interaction with the agricultural industry.

Farming, crofting and land management will continue to play an important role in maintaining thriving rural and island communities. Land management in Scotland will change as we tackle the twin biodiversity and climate crises which will present challenges and opportunities for farmers and crofters, building on their traditional leadership role in land management and stewardship.

CCC Recommendation

A replacement to the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI) should be established immediately after the current initiative expires in 2023.

SG Progress

Nature Restoration Fund funding is being used to extend the SISI project to 2025.

CCC Recommendation

Risks to freshwater environments from higher water temperatures should be better managed through adopting an integrated catchment-based approach for setting water quality targets and planning interventions in Scotland’s lochs and reservoirs.

SG Progress

The River Basin Management Plans for Scotland set out a range of actions to address these impacts. They are implemented by SEPA on behalf of Scottish Government. Data for RMBP can be found in the Water Environment Hub. They cover actions for public bodies, industry and land managers in Scotland. They summarise:

• the state of the water environment;
• pressures affecting the quality of the water environment where it is in less than good condition;
• actions to protect and improve the water environment;
• a summary of outcomes following implementation.

CCC Recommendation

Identify barriers to achieving current peatland targets and consider financial incentives or facilitating private investment in peatland restoration.

SG Progress

The Scottish Government has committed £250 million over 10 years to restore 250,000 hectares of degraded peatlands by 2030. To date, we have achieved around 65,000 hectares of this and we are committed to significantly increasing the annual rate of restoration to meet this target. A detailed delivery improvement plan is in place and aims to accelerate rates of restoration, focusing on increasing sector capacity and addressing key bottlenecks. We are working hard with our delivery partners through the Peatland Action partnership to tackle the many barriers to upscaling peatland restoration in this relatively young sector. Responsible private investment has been identified as an important approach that could help to overcome financial barriers to peatland restoration, whilst providing value for money in public expenditure and support for other economic, social and community benefits. However, this is dependent on appropriate structuring of financial mechanisms and wider policy development. We have formed a dedicated workstream that seeks to increase levels of private finance into peatland restoration through the development of blended finance approaches, which seek to use public money to “crowd-in” greater levels of responsible private investment. By the end of the financial year 2024-2025, this workstream will have:

1. Achieved a better understanding of the existing private finance market for peatland restoration, emerging actors, and their current approaches;

2. Developed a serious, professional and consistent relationship management approach across the Scottish public sector in its approach to peatland private finance;

3. Reviewed and determined what proposed blended finance solutions are viable and appropriate options for peatland restoration in Scotland, including undertaking an economic appraisal of these options;

4. Established a clear strategy for bringing forward blended finance approaches in Scotland; and

5. Assessed whether and how to make any blended finance schemes permanent and developed an understanding of how long each potential scheme would take to develop and reach maturity.

CCC Recommendation

The forthcoming update to the National Marine Plan for Scotland should ensure the objectives it contains are measurable and timebound.

SG Progress

The New National Marine Plan 2 for Scotland will support sustainable development of our seas, protect our marine environment and deliver for our coastal communities. It will help to address the global climate and nature crises by delivering sustainable management of our sizeable marine shared space in the interest of the whole of Scotland and in line with our Blue Economy vision. The planning policies and objectives are being developed with stakeholders and progress monitoring and evaluation is being designed along-side the plan.

5.11 Towns and cities

CCC Recommendation

The new national flood strategy must include a clear vision for managing future flood risk, with measurable targets informed by updates to the National Flood Risk Assessment and the most recent climate projections, accompanied by multi-year funding for local authorities for a wider range of resilience measures.

SG Progress

The Flood Resilience Strategy will be a series of high-level statements setting out the key changes that need to take place for Scotland to increase our flood resilience in the long term. Delivery plans will follow on from the publication of the strategy describing how, when and outlining the resourcing required to deliver specific actions to achieve the outcomes set out in the strategy.

CCC Recommendation

Consult on new legislation (e.g. to supersede the 1949 Coast Protection Act) to clarify roles and responsibilities for coastal management planning, as well as laying out responsibility for monitoring delivery of actions in Coastal Change Adaptation Plans.

SG Progress

The Flood Resilience Strategy and the delivery plans following this may include further work on roles and responsibilities for coastal management planning. This may include, in due course, a change to legislation.

CCC Recommendation

Establish the 5-year monitoring and evaluation programme for the fourth National Planning Framework to assess progress towards the framework’s policy objectives. This should include data collection on new infrastructure and developments in flood risk areas and planning permitted against SEPA advice. Data must be collected from local authorities and developers on the location, type and condition of SuDS and blue-green infrastructure.

SG Progress

Monitoring of NPF4 is a long term commitment. Work will align closely with the work of the Planning, Infrastructure and Advisory Group (PIPAG), the co-ordination of National Developments and the implementation of the new system of Local Development Plans, which are expected to be in place in around 5 years. We have spent much of the first year carefully watching progress and convening a range of discussions with local authorities and wider stakeholders on how different policies are being applied in practice. Through this we have been making progress towards a proposed monitoring framework.

NPF4 sets out to strengthen resilience to flood risk by promoting avoidance as a first principle and reducing the vulnerability of existing and future development to flooding. Planning Circular 3/2009 ‘Notification of Planning Applications’ sets out the criteria which planning authorities should use in determining the need to notify the Scottish Ministers of an application where SEPA has objected to the granting of planning permission, or has recommended conditions relating to flood risk which the planning authority do not propose to attach to the planning permission. This gives Ministers the opportunity to decide whether there are national interests at stake which would merit calling in the application for their own determination or to allow the authority to issue the decision at local level. Details of all notified cases are published on the Department for Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) website under ‘Planning and Architecture’.

The Water, Sewerage and Drainage Bill provides an important opportunity to improve the mapping of the rainfall drainage network including SUDS and blue-green infrastructure.

CCC Recommendation

Review the funding mechanisms and update guidance on funding for local authorities, private sector and community actors for installing and maintaining blue-green infrastructure.

SG Progress

The Scottish Government conducted a public consultation on water, wastewater and drainage policy from November 2023 to February 2024. This included questions on planning and delivering blue-green infrastructure and defining drainage as its own service. The responses from this will be analysed as part of water sector policy development.

CCC Recommendation

Ensure the third Scottish National Adaptation Plan (SNAP3) incorporates urban heat risks and adaptation.

SG Progress

The NPF4 is supported by a Delivery Programme, which was updated in September 2023. Aspects of the programme relevant to considering and addressing urban heat risks includes:

• Publication of draft planning guidance in November 2023, setting out the Scottish Ministers’ expectations for implementing NPF4 policies which support the cross-cutting NPF4 outcome ‘improving biodiversity’.
• The preparation of Planning and Climate Change guidance is underway. The guidance will support implementation of NPF4 policy 2 (climate mitigation and adaptation). It will aid the integration of climate considerations into development proposals, helping to avoid maladaptation, whilst supporting emissions reduction and increased resilience to climate risks.
• The Delivery Programme includes a commitment to bring forward the Open Space Strategy regulations in 2024-25 and to support this with guidance and sharing good practice.

5.12 Transport

CCC Recommendation

Commit to timelines for publishing the Trunk Roads Adaptation Plan, Scour Management Strategy, Flood Emergency Plan and High Wind Strategy.

SG Progress

Development of a draft Trunk Road Adaptation Plan has taken place in 2023-24, including a climate risk and vulnerability assessment using the UK Climate Projections (UKCP18). The final plan will be published in 2024-25.

Transport Scotland's High Wind Strategy and National Wind Management Guidelines were first published in 2009. An updated version of this strategy, based on the latest data and assessments, will be published in the first half of 2024.

Transport Scotland will refresh the Scour Management Strategy and Flood Emergency Plan once CS469 of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) is published. In the meantime, Transport Scotland continue to work through outstanding Level 1 and Level 2 assessments under BD97 of the DMRB.

CCC Recommendation

Develop guidance for local authorities on developing climate change risk assessments (based on UK Climate Projections 2018) and climate change resilience and adaptation plans for local roads.

SG Progress

Transport Scotland does not have any direct powers in relation to local roads in Scotland and there are already some resources for Local Authorities to engage with regarding climate change adaptation and risk assessment, e.g. Adaptation Scotland. Transport Scotland will approach the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS) to assess options for implementing a 'Community of Practice' on climate change risk assessments and plans for local roads enabling engagement with Local Authorities in this area.

CCC Recommendation

The final Long-Term plan for vessels and ports on the Clyde & Hebrides and Northern Isles networks should explicitly consider investment needs under a changing climate.

SG Progress

The Scottish Government has taken this recommendation under advisement.

5.13 Water

CCC Recommendation

The consultation on water sector policies planned for 2023 should include proposals for setting clear drought resilience standards under a changing climate, to inform leakage reduction and per capita consumption targets and future water supply needs.

SG Progress

The Scottish Government conducted a public consultation on water, wastewater and drainage policy from November 2023 to February 2024. This included questions on proposals for water resource management, including drought resilience, water consumption and water efficiency measures. The responses from this will be analysed as part of water sector policy development.

5.14 Working lands and seas

CCC Recommendation

Address data gaps across agriculture, forestry and fisheries, including collecting more recent, relevant and frequent data for monitoring purposes. Use existing or upcoming legislation to create consistent methods of collecting robust data to effectively track progress in adapting to climate change risks for agriculture and fisheries. Where there are solid frameworks in place (commercial forestry), expand data collection to include highly relevant metrics, such as on pests, pathogens and the impact of wildfires and wind damage.

SG Progress

Monitoring and evaluation will be embedded within the Agricultural Reform Programme to enable robust assessment of the effectiveness and impact of the programme. This will support continuous improvement and provide accountability to the Scottish Parliament and the public. The Agricultural Reform Programme will support farmers and crofters to play their part in Scotland becoming a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture whilst helping land managers learn about how the work they undertake impacts on climate and nature.

Currently work is being undertaken to create a short list of future productive species for Scotland. Our Resilience Action Plan will identify key actions to facilitate the increased deployment of the short listed species.

The Scottish Fire Rescue Service already collate data on wildfire numbers, area, severity and cause. Their strategy looks to reduce the number and severity of wildfires. This is made available to forestry when requested.

A remote sensing model has been developed and used after Storm Arwen, but not yet cumulatively recorded.

Records have been kept for notifiable diseases through the issue of Statutory Plant Health Notices. SPHN areas are reported annually and are published as part of the annual fact and figures across the UK. There is no intention to formally monitor the impacts of non-regulated diseases. Any increase in monitoring would need additional resourcing. The Civtech programme is currently assessing the potential of recording areas of trees that are under stress, this information could be made to forest owners to support their decision making.

A research project is due to be published in Spring 2024 which will provide further evidence for actions to be incorporated into current policies to help address risk/opportunity N14 and N15 identified in the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (UKCCRA). The research is commissioned for the Scottish Government through Scotland's centre for climate expertise (CXC). The research findings and recommendations resulting from this project will serve as a cornerstone for the development of forward-thinking policies.

CCC Recommendation

Ensure the developing Agriculture Bill and associated policies fully integrate and support adapting to climate change and building climate resilience for the agricultural sector.

SG Progress

The Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament in September 2023. The Bill will be the platform for measures focused on key Scottish Government outcomes: high quality food production; climate mitigation and adaptation; nature restoration; and wider rural development. It is of a framework nature, intended to deliver our published four-tier support framework and to enable continued co-develop of detailed measures.

The Vision for Agriculture was published in March 2022 and whilst remaining aligned to the key objectives of the EU CAP, we will have a robust and coherent Future Support Framework to underpin Scotland’s future agricultural support regime from 2025 onwards, that delivers climate mitigation and adaptation, nature restoration and high-quality food production. In the future at least half of all funding for farming and crofting will be targeted towards outcomes for climate mitigation and adaptation and biodiversity.

The Agricultural Reform Programme will deliver the Vision for Agriculture and brings together work and expertise including the Agricultural Reform Route Map, the Agriculture Bill, Future Support Framework, Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board, and the National Test Programme.

Farming, crofting and land management will continue to play an important role in maintaining thriving rural and island communities. Land management in Scotland will change as we tackle the twin biodiversity and climate crises which will present challenges and opportunities for farmers and crofters, building on their traditional leadership role in land management and stewardship.

CCC Recommendation

Tie any Government-funded payment schemes to delivering adaptation and wider environmental benefits. Ensure any basic payment scheme includes cross-compliance stipulations to carry out actions to build resilience to climate change.

SG Progress

In the future at least half of all funding for farming and crofting will be targeted towards outcomes for biodiversity gain and climate mitigation and adaption. This is to improve the resilience, efficiency and profitability of the sector.

The existing framework of support will continue in 2024 to provide security and stability to farmers and crofters. Changes will begin in 2025, when a phased transition will then take place to implement the Future Support Framework’s proposed conditional payments under 4 tiers. Under the Framework, payments will be made to farmers and crofters undertaking agricultural activities while meeting minimum essential standards in relation to sustainable farming activities, protecting the environment, animal health and welfare and ensuring Fair Work.

Payments will also be made for undertaking further activity that delivers outcomes for nature and climate improvement, including recognition of wider land management. These standards will help to make businesses more efficient, whilst helping them to contribute to Scotland's climate, biodiversity and emissions targets. Existing cross-compliance conditions will be maintained as a minimum in the new support framework and will apply across all tiers but may be delivered differently.

CCC Recommendation

Use the Blue Economy Vision to design a strategy for fisheries and aquaculture that integrates adaptation of the sector to climate change as a central outcome and brings together already existing legislation and frameworks into one coherent strategy for the fishing and aquaculture sectors. Ensure that policies are updated with specific adaptation actions, SMART climate resilience objectives and appropriate monitoring and evaluation to support the sector to adapt to a changing climate and ocean acidification.

SG Progress

The Scottish Government has taken this recommendation under advisement.

CCC Recommendation

Introduce sector plans for benefitting from any opportunities that might arise from climate change, including the commercial exploitation of new warmwater species that are migrating to Scottish waters and the profitability of shifting to the cultivation of crops and commercial forestry that thrive in expected new climate conditions.

SG Progress

The draft Scottish National Adaptation Plan 3 sets out proposed actions to consider opportunities for agriculture from climate change including crop research and ensuring guidance and advice for farmers and crofters is updated and refreshed as that research develops, and as the climate changes.

Current work is being undertaken to create a short list of future productive species for Scotland. Our Resilience Action Plan will identify key actions to facilitate the increased deployment of the short listed species. We have stated in the Delivery Plan supporting Scotland's Fisheries Management Strategy that we work towards a fishing sector that is sustainable and helps deliver our nature restoration and net zero objectives, we recognise the need to work in partnership with stakeholders to deliver a just transition – further work will take place on this with our co-management group, the Fisheries Management and Conservation Group. As part of work on delivering a just transition where possible we will explore diversification opportunities for the fleet working our inshore and offshore waters. Uncertain when and if maximising opportunities may arise due to climate change and warming waters possibly opening up of new fisheries.