Effectiveness of environmental governance arrangements: statement

Introduction

The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 (‘The Continuity Act’) contains a range of provisions to protect Scottish law and society from the impacts of withdrawal from the EU. Part 2 of the Continuity Act comprises three key measures to protect environmental standards and promote sustainable policies: the creation of a domestic system of environmental governance including the establishment of Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS), the introduction of duties on Scottish Ministers and other public authorities to have due regard to the guiding principles on the environment, and a statutory requirement on the Scottish Ministers to publish and have due regard to an environmental policy strategy.

Section 41 of the Continuity Act requires the Scottish Ministers to review and prepare a report into the effectiveness of the governance arrangements introduced by the Act. The Act requires the report to cover the following three matters:

• whether the provisions of the Environmental Governance Chapter of the Act have ensured that there continues to be effective and appropriate governance relating to the environment following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU,
• whether the law in Scotland on access to justice on environmental matters is effective and sufficient, and
• whether and, if so, how the establishment of an environmental court could enhance the governance arrangements.

The Scottish Government published its report into the effectiveness of governance arrangements on 1 June 2023. The report covered the three matters listed above and also provided an overview of wider issues of environmental governance. Following the consultation, section 41(6) of the Continuity Act states that the Scottish Ministers must lay before the Scottish Parliament a statement setting out:

• details of the consultation that was carried out,
• a summary of any views expressed in response to the consultation, and
• the Scottish Ministers' recommendations in response to those views.