Ban on the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic: Strategic Environmental Assessment Post-Adoption Statement

2. The Strategic Environmental Assessment process

The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 (‘the 2005 Act’) requires that public plans, programmes, and strategies be assessed for their potential effects on the environment^[5]. A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is the process used to fulfil this requirement and includes consultation with both the public and the Scottish Consultation Authorities^[6].

This SEA process began with the production of a combined Screening and Scoping Report which was published in June 2023, setting out the proposed approach to the SEA, including the proposed scope and level of detail. Representations received from the SEA Consultation Authorities at the scoping stage helped to inform the next stages of the SEA process.

The Environmental Report was published for consultation on 14 October 2023 together with the following documents:

• A UK-wide consultation paper on wet wipes containing plastic
• A UK-wide economic annex
• A Partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment

Following the consultation, an analysis of all responses received was conducted. Views received through stakeholder engagement were also taken into account. A joint UK-wide government response to the consultation was published on 22 April 2024 and contained a summary of the consultation responses^[7]. Overall, over 93% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed in support of a ban on the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic.

This Post-adoption Statement concludes the SEA process and sets out those ways in which the findings of the Environmental Report, and the views expressed by consultees in relation to the Environmental Report have been taken into account.

Section 18(3) of the 2005 Act sets out the information that should be included in the Post-adoption Statement. This can be summarised as:

• How the environmental considerations have been integrated into the plan, programme, or strategy (see Section 3);
• How the Environmental Report has been taken into account (see Section 4);
• How the opinions of consultees have been taken into account (see Section 5);
• The reasons for choosing the plan, programme or strategy as adopted, in light of the other reasonable alternatives considered (see Section 6); and
• The measures to be taken to monitor the significant environmental effects of the implementation of the plan, programme or strategy (see Section 7).