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ISBN 0 7559 1263 2 (Web only publication)
This document is also available in pdf format 240k)

Dear Sir or Madam

Scottish Executive Consultation CON 651
Strategic Environmental Assessment
Draft information note on procedures for consultation with the Scottish Consultation Authorities

I am writing to consult you about proposals by the Consultation Authorities to publish an Information Note on procedures for consultation with them under the Strategic Environmental Assessment legislation.

There are three Consultation Authorities: the Scottish Ministers, Scottish Natural Heritage ( SNH) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency ( SEPA). The Scottish Ministers have designated Historic Scotland to act on their behalf on matters affecting the historic environment. Historic Scotland is co-ordinating this consultation exercise on behalf of all three Consultation Authorities.

I attach a document setting out background information on Strategic Environmental Assessment ( Annex A), as well as a copy of the draft Information Note ( Annex B).

Responding to this consultation

We are inviting written responses to this consultation by 20 January 2006. Please send your response to:

hssea.gateway@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

or

If you have any queries please contact William Kidd on 0131 668 8898.

This consultation, and all other Scottish Executive consultation exercises, can be viewed online on the consultation web pages of the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations. You can telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out where your nearest public internet access point is.

The Scottish Executive now has an email alert system for consultations ( SEconsult: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/seconsult.aspx). This system allows stakeholder individuals and organisations to register and receive a weekly email containing details of all new consultations (including web links). SEconsult complements, but in no way replaces SE distribution lists, and is designed to allow stakeholders to keep up to date with all SE consultation activity, and therefore be alerted at the earliest opportunity to those of most interest. We would encourage you to register.

Handling your response

We need to know how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether you are happy for your response to be made public. Please complete and return the Respondent Information Form enclosed with this letter, as this will ensure that we treat your response appropriately. If you ask for your response not to be published we will regard it as confidential, and we will treat it accordingly.

All respondents should be aware that the Scottish Executive are 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.

Next steps in the process

Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public (see the attached Respondent Information Form), these will be made available to the public in the Scottish Executive Library. We will check all responses where agreement to publish has been given for any potentially defamatory material before logging them in the library or placing them on the website. You can make arrangements to view responses by contacting the SE Library on 0131 244 4565. Responses can be copied and sent to you, but a charge may be made for this service.

What happens next ?

Following the closing date, all responses will be considered. We aim to issue a report on this consultation process by Spring 2006.

Comments and complaints

If you have any comments about how this consultation exercise has been conducted, please send them to William Kidd.

Yours faithfully

Amanda Chisholm
Strategic Environmental Assessment Team Leader

Annex A Background document
Annex B draft Information Note
Annex C Respondent information form
Annex D The consultation process
Annex E List of organisations consulted

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