Litter and flytipping strategy: strategic environment assessment - post adoption statement

7 How opinions expressed on the consultation have been taken into account

7.1 Overview

Consultation lies at the heart of any meaningful assessment or appraisal process and is based on the key principle that plan and programme making is better where it is transparent, inclusive and uses information that has been subject to public scrutiny. In this context Scottish Government, has sought to ensure that those with an interest in, or who are affected by the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy should have the opportunity to present their views on the consultation documentation.

7.2 Public Consultation

Public consultation was held, from 13^th December 2021 to 31^st March 2022 to obtain the opinion of public individuals and organisations on the proposed National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, the actions considered and the possible impacts of such an approach. Views were obtained through the completion of a 33 question questionnaire hosted on the Scottish Government's Consultation Hub. The consultation documentation also included the Environmental Report, along with online links to a Business Regulatory Impact Assessment, an Equality Impact Assessment, a Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment, the Islands Communities Impact Assessment, and the Marine Litter Strategy Consultation.

A detailed analysis and response to the completed public consultation has been published by the Scottish Government.^[23]

A total of 978 responses (from 892 individuals and 86 organisations) were received to the consultation on the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy. There are generally high levels of support for almost all actions proposed within the consultation documents to prevent litter and flytipping. Where people disagreed, it was primarily due to not seeing the benefit of broader supporting action and wanted resources focused on cleansing and enforcement.

The Scottish Government are still committed to a prevention focus for the strategy and recognising the role in cleansing and enforcement in this. Prevention is recognised as the most efficient way to deliver public services and preventing material from becoming litter or flytipped, it will eliminate the negative impacts and offer the greatest chance to maximise the positive impacts e.g. ensuring material is recycled or products reused.

In refining and developing the adopted National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, where relevant, Scottish Government has updated the language in the strategy document to capture the broader range of impacts. Actions have been clarified and new actions added to ensure we are covering the full range of issues identified by stakeholders. Finally, a commitment is made to establish a clear and robust governance process, to embed stakeholder ownership of the strategy and make full use of collective skills and knowledge in delivering the strategy aims and objectives.