Food (Promotion and Placement) (Scotland) Regulations 2025: island communities impact assessment

Assessment

It is assessed from the evidence review that implementation of volume and location promotion restrictions on HFSS food and drinks is not meaningfully different for island compared to mainland communities.

To assess the potential impact of the policy on island communities alongside the evidence consideration has been given to feedback received to the public consultations and outputs from stakeholder engagement.

Building on feedback from previous consultations the 2024 consultation set out proposals to target medium and large businesses and to exempt stores with a relevant floor area of less than 185.8 m² (2000 sq. ft.) from location restrictions. In the policy response to the consultation feedback, the Scottish Government proposed that it will proceed with the proposed exemptions both on business size (number of employees) and store floor area.

Such exemptions seek to address practical implementation concerns raised related to small businesses which is a key consideration for island and rural communities given the prominence of small business in these communities. In the decision-making process consideration of exemptions was balanced against public health stakeholder concerns that exempting small stores could impact rural areas and areas of multiple deprivation potentially exacerbating health inequalities.