National Marine Plan 2 - strategic environmental assessment: scoping report

4. Next Steps

4.1. This sets out the next steps for the SEA, including an indicative timeline (Table 3).

4.2. Marine Directorate propose a period of consultation on National Marine Plan 2, the SEA Environmental Report, and other assessments of 16 weeks.

Consultation

4.3. This Scoping Report has been provided to the statutory Consultation Authorities/consultation bodies for comment, in addition to being made available to relevant Member States and members of the public.

4.4. Following the close of this consultation, the responses will be analysed and used to inform the development of the Environmental Report and draft plan that will be made available for public consultation as per the proposed timeline (Table 3).

Responding to this Consultation

4.5. We are inviting responses to this consultation by 30 October 2023.

4.6. Please respond to this consultation using the Scottish Government’s consultation hub, Citizen Space (http://consult.gov.scot). Access and respond to this consultation online at https://consult.gov.scot/marine-scotland/national-marine-plan-2-strategic-environmental. You can save and return to your responses while the consultation is still open. Please ensure that consultation responses are submitted before the closing date of 30 October 2023.

4.7. If you are unable to respond using our consultation hub, please complete the Respondent Information Form to:

National Marine Planning Team

Scottish Government

Area 1B North

Victoria Quay

Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ

Handling your response

4.8. If you respond using the consultation hub, you will be directed to the About You page before submitting your response. Please indicate how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether you are content for your response to published. If you ask for your response not to be published, we will regard it as confidential, and we will treat it accordingly.

4.9. All respondents should be aware that the Scottish Government is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and would therefore have to consider any request made to it under the Act for information relating to responses made to this consultation exercise.

4.10. If you are unable to respond via Citizen Space, please complete and return the Respondent Information Form included in this document.

4.11. To find out how we handle your personal data, please see our privacy policy: https://www.gov.scot/privacy/.

Next Steps in the Process

4.12. Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public, and after we have checked that they contain no potentially defamatory material, responses will be made available to the public at http://consult.gov.scot. If you use the consultation hub to respond, you will receive a copy of your response via email.

4.13. Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us. Responses will be published where we have been given permission to do so. An analysis report will also be made available.

Comments and Complaints

4.14. If you have any comments about how this consultation exercise has been conducted, please send them to the contact address above or at NationalMarinePlanning@gov.scot.

Scottish Government consultation process

4.15. Consultation is an essential part of the policy-making process. It gives us the opportunity to consider your opinion and expertise on a proposed area of work.

4.16. You can find all our consultations online: http://consult.gov.scot. Each consultation details the issues under consideration, as well as a way for you to give us your views, either online, by email or by post.

4.17. Responses will be analysed and used as part of the decision-making process, along with a range of other available information and evidence. We will publish a report of this analysis for every consultation. Depending on the nature of the consultation exercise the responses received may:

• indicate the need for policy development or review
• inform the development of a particular policy
• help decisions to be made between alternative policy proposals
• be used to finalise legislation before it is implemented

4.18. While details of particular circumstances described in a response to a consultation exercise may usefully inform the policy process, consultation exercises cannot address individual concerns and comments, which should be directed to the relevant public body.

National Marine Plan 2 Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Scoping Report

The Respondent Information Form can be found at the supporting documents.