Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024: island communities impact assessment

Introduction

1. Section 7 of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 (the 2018 Act), places a specific duty on relevant authorities, including the Scottish Ministers and other public bodies, to have regard to island communities in carrying out their functions.

2. This includes the need to consult with island communities and prepare an Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) to determine and respond to any changes arising from legislation which, in their opinion, is likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities) in Scotland.

3. This assessment should:

• describe the likely significantly different effect of the legislation;
• assess the extent to which the Scottish Ministers consider that the legislation can be developed in such a manner as to improve or mitigate, for island communities, the outcomes resulting from the legislation; and
• set out the financial implications of steps taken under this subsection to mitigate, for island communities, the outcomes resulting from the legislation.

4. The Island Communities Impact Assessments: Guidance And Toolkit (the Guidance) sets out an approach for undertaking an ICIA. This includes an initial screening stage (‘Section 7 assessment’), followed by an additional impact assessment stage (‘Section 8 assessment’) if required following screening. The final stage is the publication of relevant documents.

5. Section 11 of the 2018 Act requires that a relevant authority must have regard to the Guidance in fulfilling its section 7 duty. The Guidance emphasises the importance of effective and meaningful consultation and robust community engagement so that islanders are given a platform to voice their opinions, concerns and suggestions. It also addresses the need to consult island communities in order for a relevant authority to comply with the section 7 duty.

6. This document constitutes the ICIA undertaken, in accordance with the Guidance, in respect of review which has now confirmed regulatory changes through The Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024 to be laid in December 2024 which relate to the manner in which information on the energy and environmental performance of new buildings and new building work is to be presented to verifier to support assessment of compliance with regulations.

7. It offers an ICIA produce in support of the consultation on ‘Determining the principles for a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard’ which was undertaken between 31 July and 23 October 2024 and, following analysis of responses, notes initial actions being taken forward to amend regulations and planned further development of the review and a stage two consultation on changes to non-legislative elements of addressing building performance and process for summer 2025.

8. It is noted that reporting at this time draws heavily on prior discussion which informed the most recent review of energy standards which concluded in February 2023. This should therefore be considered a partial ICIA in the context of the overall review but provides a complete response in support of the confirmed changes to procedural regulations.

9. The principles and issues under discussion within this new review are generally the same. However, additional factors identified due to the citation of comparison with the Passivhaus standard are noted in sections 33, 34 & 42, for consideration as this review is progressed from January 2025.