Single-Use Disposable Beverage Cups Charge: Island Communities Impact Assessment Report: Pre-Consultation Interim Report

1. Introduction

This document was completed in conjunction with the Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) Guidance. The guidance sets out a seven-step process to help policy makers assess and take into account the impact a policy, strategy or service may have in island communities in Scotland.

The development of impact assessments is an iterative process and should be updated and referred to throughout the development of a policy, strategy or service. This version of the ICIA report has been prepared to accompany the public ‘Consultation on Charging for Single-Use Disposable Beverage Cups’. It considers steps one, two and three of the Scottish Government guidance and will be updated as the policy development process progresses. Further information on these and subsequent steps, as well as the importance of ICIAs can be found on the Scottish Government website.

The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 places a duty on the Scottish Ministers and other relevant authorities, including a number of public authorities, to have regard to island communities in exercising their functions. For the Scottish Ministers, this includes the development of legislation. This duty is often referred to as ‘island- proofing’.

An ICIA must align with the requirements of the Islands Act, namely to:

(i) describe the likely significantly different effect of the policy, strategy or service (as the case may be) on island communities, and

(ii) assess the extent to which the authority considers that the policy, strategy or service (as the case may be) can be developed or delivered in such a manner as to improve or mitigate, for island communities, the outcomes resulting from it.