Draft circular economy strategy: island communities impact assessment - pre-consultation interim report

Introduction

This Draft Island Communities Impact Assessment has been prepared to accompany a public consultation on A Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland (the Strategy).

This document was completed in conjunction with the Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) Guidance. This 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 document considers steps one, two, three and four 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 Island Communities Impact Assessments can be found in the guidance on the Scottish Government website^[1].

Islands Communities Impact Assessment Introduction

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 Islands Communities Impact Assessment 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.