Scottish Statutory Instruments and EU directives list: FOI release

Information requested

1) A full list of Scottish Statutory Instruments that imposed an obligation on businesses operating in Scotland since 1 May 2007. As an example, The Alcohol (Minimum Price per Unit) (Scotland) Order 2018 placed an obligation regarding the minimum unit price of alcohol. Please provide a full list of the SSIs imposing an obligation of any kind on Scottish businesses that came into force after 1 May 2007.

2) A full list of the EU directives the Scottish Government have adopted since 1 January 2021. Please state all EU directives adopted by the Scottish Government since this date and how they were brought into force in Scotland (through an SSI, primary legislation, integrated into Scottish Government policy etc.).

Response

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested with regard to part 1 of your request. The reasons why we do not have the information are explained in the Annex to this letter.

With regard to part 2 of your request, when the UK left the European Union on 31 January 2021, the repeal of the European Communities Act 1972 meant it was no longer possible to transpose EU directives into domestic law. However, the Scottish Government’s policy of alignment with the European Union, detailed in its policy statement approved by Scottish Parliament in provides for the continued consideration of EU law in Scotland following the UK’s departure from the EU. The policy statement is publicly available and can be viewed on the Scottish Government Website.

Since 2021 the Scottish Government is required to provide annual reports to the Scottish Parliament on the Scottish Government’s alignment with the EU, which are publicly available and can be viewed at the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee section of the Scottish Parliament Website.

In addition, you may find it helpful to note that in addition to its own reporting, the Scottish Parliament commissions its own tracking of EU legislation in relation to the Scottish Government’s policy of EU alignment. This further information can also be found via the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee section of the Scottish Parliament Website.

As the information you have requested is published and publicly available, under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the websites listed, then please contact me again and we will provide you with a printed copy.

ANNEX A

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested

With regard to part 1 of your request, the Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for. To acquire the information, this would require detailed analysis to create new information. The Scottish Government is not required to create new information in order to answer a request.

As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. However, you may wish to note that legislation pertaining to Scotland can be accessed via the publicly accessible legislation.gov.uk website.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.