Programme for Government 2025-26: Impact Assessments

Programme for Government 2025-2026: Consumer Duty Compliance Statement

The Scottish Ministers have been designated as a relevant public authority for the purposes of the consumer duty by the Consumer Scotland Act 2020 (Relevant Public Authorities) Regulations 2024. This means that the Scottish Government must meet the following four requirements of the Consumer Scotland Act 2020:

• When making decisions of a strategic nature, have regard to the impact those decisions have on consumers in Scotland
• When making decisions of a strategic nature, have regard to the desirability of reducing harm to consumers in Scotland
• Publish information about the steps taken to meet the duty
• Have regard to any Consumer Scotland guidance about the duty

The consumer duty seeks to ensure that consumers are at the heart of all strategic decisions within the Scottish Government. Authorities are encouraged by Consumer Scotland to take a flexible, proportionate, and targeted approach to meeting the duty.

As with similar publications of its type, the Programme for Government (PfG) collectively constitutes a ‘strategic decision’, even if each of the various policies contained within it may not. In meeting the duty, the Scottish Ministers have considered the overall potential impact of portfolio areas and the cumulative expected impact of the PfG.

The Scottish Ministers have complied with the requirements of the 2020 Act in deciding on the PfG for 2025-2026. This statement sets out the steps taken to comply with the duty. The following impact assessment has been carried out:

Stage 1 – Planning

1. Is this a decision of a strategic nature? Yes

The Programme for Government 2025-2026 (PfG) is an outline of actions that the Scottish Government intends to take over the coming year to meet the four priorities determined by the First Minister and sets out an offer to the people of Scotland to improve upon the areas reflected by the priorities. The overall aim of the PfG is to present a suite of actions that, when taken collectively, will address each of the four priorities. These four priorities span across portfolios and therefore contain actions from a range of directorates within Scottish Government. The priorities and their aims are as follows:

Growing the Economy is required as an immediate action to tackle the huge economic uncertainty faced by Scotland, and globally. The aim of this priority is to protect Scotland’s people from the economic uncertainty they face and the disastrous impacts it can have on their lives.

Eradicating Child Poverty remains the central mission of the Scottish Government. The aim of this priority within the context of the PfG is to outline the actions that will impact on eradicating child poverty and addressing the key root causes of child poverty

Tackling the Climate Emergency, in the face of economic challenges and increasing climate scepticism, is more important than ever. The aim of this priority within the context of the PfG is to outline the actions that Scottish Government will take to address the climate emergency, and tackle the twin crises of climate change and nature loss.

Delivering High Quality and Sustainable Public Services is a priority for the Scottish Government as our public services are fundamental in delivering the action that will be taken to eradicate child poverty, grow the economy, and tackle the climate emergency. The aim of this priority is to equip public services to deliver for people when they need them.

As a key, high-level decision taken by the Scottish Ministers that sets out the Scottish Government’s proposed actions to deliver on their priorities over the coming Parliamentary year, the PfG is considered to be a decision of a strategic nature.

2. Is the strategic decision likely to have an impact on any/all consumers? Yes

Consideration has been given to whether the PfG is likely to have an impact on any or all consumers. As the PfG comprises proposed actions to deliver on the Scottish Ministers’ priorities, including as to the allocation of resources to public services, it will have an impact on the users of those public services. Users of public services are consumers for the purposes of the consumer duty.

Stage 2 – Evidence Gathering

3. What is the proposal trying to achieve?

As above, the PfG presents a suite of actions that, when taken collectively, are intended to address the four priorities of the Scottish Government.

In terms of gathering evidence, internal processes ensured engagement across the different policy teams within the Scottish Government. Each policy area was provided with information on the consumer duty and a commission was issued to gather evidence. The commission contained specific questions surrounding the cumulative impact on consumers, whether the consumer duty had been had regard to during the policy development process and any specific instances of potential harm to consumers.

The information received from this commission forms the basis of the analysis of impact set out below.

4. What are the impacts on consumers?

The PfG will impact upon how the public engage with essential services; how consumer data is used; consumer protections in place; the availability of information available to consumers; and making it easier for consumers to seek advice or raise complaints. Commitments to better align services, including for vulnerable families, may have implications for how consumers interact with public services and we will continue to assess how this will impact consumers as the policy is further developed. 

PfG comprises a large number of proposed actions. Although every policy within PfG has been considered, the following examples illustrate how consumers will be impacted and have been considered in the overall assessment of the potential impacts.

We’ve committed funding this year to improve digital connectivity. This approach will support consumers in some of our hardest to reach communities by connecting their homes and businesses thus improving the overall service.

PfG commits to the abolition of peak rail fares permanently from 1 September 2025 to encourage more people to travel by train, reduce car journeys and help existing peak time rail passengers with the cost of living.

In social security, the provision of funding for free income maximisation and debt advice will improve the service for consumers, helping them get access to the advice they need to reduce their costs and increase their income from social security including:

• Supporting 105 organisations, in 33 partnerships, to provide financial advice for people in accessible settings like hospitals and community centres.
• Investing an extra £2.2 million to support the expansion of tailored advice on council tax debt across Scotland – building on a successful pilot that has already helped over 1,600 people with council tax arrears.

A number of commitments outline a specific focus on ensuring vulnerable consumers benefit from efforts to grow the economy. These consumers may be currently living in poverty, disabled, a racialised minority, a worker over 50, a woman or an elderly person living in a rural area. These commitments include:

• Investing in Communities Fund
• Specialist Employability Support
• Flexible working and support for disabled workers

By offering a more targeted support we’re improving the experience of service users, particularly those vulnerable groups.

5. Is it likely that harm will be experienced by consumers as a result of this proposal?

It is considered unlikely that there will be any increase in harm to consumers as a result of the overall package of commitments in PfG. Where there is a risk that harm may result (as defined in the Consumer Scotland guidance on page 29) consideration has been given to alternative options that reduce that harm at a strategic level.

Stage 3 – Assessment and Improvement of Proposal

6. What is the expected impact of the strategic decision on consumers in Scotland?

Based on an analysis of the cumulative impact of all of the proposals comprising the PfG, it is expected that the impact of the PfG will overall be positive for consumers.

7. Has Scottish Government had due regard to the desirability of reducing harm to consumers in Scotland? Yes

Each portfolio area was asked to consider the desirability of reducing harm to consumers and consider whether the commitments put forward within their portfolio area meet the criteria required in the guidance.

All portfolio areas confirmed that there was no expectation of harm arising from any of the commitments put forward for inclusion in the PfG. Some, as detailed above, actively reduce harm to consumers.

From this analysis, the Scottish Ministers can be satisfied that due regard has been given to the desirability of reducing harm to consumers within the context of the PfG.

8. Is there a need for further engagement with consumers?

Further engagement will be needed as part of standard policy development. Individual policy areas are responsible for engaging with consumers in relation to their specific policy areas and commitments in the PfG.

Stage 4 – Decision

9. Has Scottish Government met the consumer duty for this decision? Yes

10. If yes to above, explain how?

In the process of carrying out this impact assessment, the cumulative package of commitments included in the PfG has been examined for potential impacts on consumers in Scotland. Regard has accordingly been had to the impact of the PfG on consumers in Scotland, and to the desirability of reducing harm to them.

This means that we have put consumer outcomes at the heart of our strategic decision making.

Stage 5 – Publication and Review

Section 23 of the 2020 Act requires public authorities to publish information about the steps which they have taken to meet the duty. The authority must publish the information no later than 12 months after the end of period to which it relates.

This statement will be published www.gov.scot on 14 May 2025

How will the process carried out be reviewed and evaluated?

The impact assessment carried out will be subject to review and evaluation within 12 months of publication using the template found at the Consumer Scotland website.