Agglomerations Noise Action Plan for Scotland: impact assessments 2026

2. Consumer Duty Impact Assessment Screening for the Agglomerations Noise Action Plan for Scotland: Round 4 (2026)

Decision relating to full Consumer Duty Impact Assessment not required

Title of the policy / proposal

Agglomeration Noise Action Plan for Scotland

Directorate / Division / Team

Enfor, Environmental Quality and Resilience Division, Environmental Protection Team

Responsible policy official for taking decision

Phil Leeks – Senior Policy Manager

Who else participated

Environmental protection team – Lead policy team for the Agglomerations Noise Action Plan

Transport Scotland: Environment Branch – Lead policy team for the Transportation Noise Action Plan

Rationale for deciding that the strategic decision would have no impact on consumers

The Agglomerations Noise Action Plan for Scotland: Round 4 (2026), sets out actions for the Scottish Government and local authorities to support noise management within five specified agglomerations, with a focus on potential areas of high noise levels (e.g. from road and rail sources).

The Agglomerations Noise Action Plan for Scotland, covers five agglomerations in Scotland. The five agglomerations are Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Falkirk and Glasgow. An agglomeration is defined as an area with more than 100,000 inhabitants in an urbanised area with a population density equal to or greater than 500 people per km².

The Agglomerations Noise Action Plan describes a framework for the management of noise. The process does not impose any additional material costs on the local authorities. Instead it enables the relevant local authority to target action to the worst affected areas and to develop proposals for assisting the management of noise as appropriate including taking account of budgetary and other considerations. Any specific action identified will be based on local decisions - taking into account costs and benefits.

The Noise Action Planning meetings, with appropriate stakeholders, enabled identification of the appropriate datasets required for the production of the Noise Map for Scotland.

Modelled noise exposure levels have been mapped for Scotland^[1] and that information is made available to the public. These maps include all road and rail sources (major and non-major) for the whole of Scotland, previously this level of detail was only produced within the agglomerations. The noise model enables the identification within the plan of candidate Noise Management Areas (CNMAs), to prevent and reduce environmental noise where possible, and candidate Quiet Areas (CQAs), to preserve environmental noise quality where it is good. The Agglomerations Noise Action Plan for Scotland is based on these strategic noise maps.

The production of the noise maps and the Agglomerations Noise Action Plan fulfils the statutory requirements. The CNMAs and CQAs are identified on a prioritised basis, which enables the local authorities to focus efforts in these areas to validate the noise model output. Different mitigation measures could be incorporated where appropriate to mitigate the source, or sources, of the noise. Whilst the CNMAs are not directly linked to people in poverty / lower socio-economic groups, these prioritised CNMAs focus on areas where the local noise is high and it could potentially affect a large number of people.

A consultation on the Agglomerations Noise Action Plan for Scotland was undertaken from 04 November to 31 December 2025, this gave an opportunity for interested communities (those affected by noise) to engage in action planning.

The consumer principles, from the Consumer Duty guidance, provide a framework to understand consumer needs and outcomes and how to minimise harm and maximise value and benefits to consumers. This Agglomerations Noise Action Plan will not have an impact of consumers.

Declaration

I have read the ‘rationale for deciding that the strategic decision would have no impact on consumers’ section of this template.

I am satisfied that all considerations have been assessed and met and that a Consumer Duty Impact Assessment is not required in this instance.

Name: Anne Aitken

Job title: Deputy Director, Environmental Quality & Resilience Division

Date: 23 Feb 2026

Ministerial Sign-Off

The decision not to conduct a Consumer Duty Impact Assessment was communicated to Ms. Martin, Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, on 23 February 2026 and her agreement was given on 25 February 2026.

Publication

Date published to SG website: 11 March 2026