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Chapter 5: Scoping
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Contents
Part 1 - Introduction to scoping
- Background - what is scoping?
Part 2 - Legislative requirements for scoping
- The legislation
- What should you send to the Consultation Authorities?
Part 3 - Scoping guidance
- What should you include in a Scoping Report?
- How long should a Scoping Report be?
- When do you start and complete a Scoping Report?
- Where do you submit reports to?
- What happens after the Consultation Authorities offer a view?
Part 4 - Useful contacts for this stage
Part 1 - Introduction to scoping
Background - what is scoping?
5.1.1 Section 15 of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 ('the Act') requires a Responsible Authority to consider, in conjunction with the Consultation Authorities, the scope and level of detail of the environmental assessment. This is known as "scoping". The purpose of scoping is to identify the environmental issues to be taken into consideration during decision-making. Scoping thus 'sets the scope' of the environmental assessment. It is undertaken early on in the assessment process, to enable the Responsible Authority to focus on the significant environmental issues to be assessed, and thereby avoid wasting time, money and effort.
5.1.2 The scope of the SEA depends on:
- what is being proposed, i.e. the remit of the plan, programme or strategy ( PPS);
- the geographical and temporal coverage of the PPS; and
- the nature of the receiving environment.
5.1.3 The scoping process also identifies the methods to be used, the organisations and/or individuals to be consulted during the assessment, and the timing and length of the consultation period.
5.1.4 It is sometimes possible at this stage to identify environmental parameters which would not be affected by the PPS and thus exclude them from further consideration in the SEA ('scoping out'). At the same time, scoping identifies the parameters which should be assessed ('scoping in').
Part 2 - Legislative requirements for scoping
The legislation
5.2.1 The Responsible Authority must set out its proposed approach to the environmental assessment to be reported in the Environmental Report, in respect of:
- the scope of the assessment (Section 15 of the Act);
- the level of detail of the assessment (which will vary depending on the nature and scale of the PPS); and
- the period it intends to provide for consulting on the Environmental Report (as required by Section 16). The Responsible Authority must consider both the timing of the consultation, i.e. when it occurs in the PPS preparation process, and its length, so that the consultation is both early and effective.
The legislation then requires that a Responsible Authority must consult with the Consultation Authorities with sufficient details of the PPS so that they can form a view on the scope and level of detail to be included in the Environmental Report.
5.2.2 Consultation Authorities must provide a view, once consulted by a Responsible Authority, within 5 weeks and copy their responses to the other Consultation Authorities.
Requirements for Scoping in the Act |
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Section 15 (1) of the Act states that before deciding on- (a) the scope and level of detail of the information to be included in the environmental report; and
(b) the consultation period it intends to specify under section 16(1)(b) of the Act and notify under section 16(2)(a)(iv), the responsible authority shall send to each Consultation Authority such sufficient details of the qualifying plan or programme as will enable the Consultation Authority to form a view on those matters ( i.e. those in (a) and (b) above). |
Section 15(2) states that each Consultation Authority shall (a) send to the Responsible Authority its views on the matters referred to in subsection (1) within the period of 5 weeks beginning with the date on which the details referred to in that subsection are received by the Consultation Authority; and
(b) send a copy of those views to the other Consultation Authorities |
Section 15(3) states that the responsible authorities shall- (a) take account of the views expressed by the Consultation Authorities; and
(b) advise the Scottish Ministers of the period it intends to specify and notify for consultation |
Section 15(4) states that if Scottish ministers consider that the period referred to in subsection (3)(b) is not likely to give (as the case may be) - (a) the consultation authorities; or
(b) the public -
(i) affected or likely to be affected by; or
(ii) having an interest in, the plan or programme, an early and effective opportunity to express their opinion on the plan or programme and the accompanying environmental report, the Scottish ministers shall, within 7 days of receipt of the advice under subsection (3)(b), specify such other period as the Scottish Ministers consider will give the consultation authorities, or (as thee case may be) the public, such an early and effective opportunity. |
5.2.3 The Responsible Authority must take account of the views expressed by the Consultation Authorities and also advise the Scottish Ministers of the proposed consultation period for the Environmental Report.
5.2.4 Section 15(4) gives the Scottish Ministers powers to specify a consultation period for the Environmental Report, where they consider that the period proposed by the Responsible Authority is not likely to give Consultation Authorities or the public an early and effective opportunity to express their opinion on the PPS and the accompanying Environmental Report.
What should you send to the Consultation Authorities?
5.2.5 Practitioners often refer to a 'scoping report' as the means to provide "such sufficient details of the qualifying PPS" and thereby satisfy the scoping provisions of the Act. However, the method for meeting the consultation requirements of Section 15(1) is not prescribed in the Act. That said, the provision of scoping reports is a common and well established practice. The Consultation Authorities also indicate in their Information Note 1 that they prefer to receive concise Scoping Reports covering the sort of information shown in paragraph 5.3.1 below.
5.2.6 Scoping Reports are needed to allow the Consultation Authorities to understand the remit and coverage of a PPS in order that they can effectively advise on the scope and level of detail which the assessment should cover. For example, a national level PPS with no locational proposals is less likely to require detailed information about the environmental baseline and anticipated effects on it than a PPS which covers a smaller area and includes locational proposals. In this instance, it is unlikely that the national level PPS would, for example, need to identify locations and details of individual protected sites, but a rather a broad understanding of the importance and quality of the environment should be demonstrated.
5.2.7 Responsible Authorities may also use other innovative approaches to scoping, providing it enables the Consultation Authorities to form a view about the scope and level of detail of the environmental assessment.
5.2.8 Further guidance on what should be included in a Scoping Report is provided in paragraph 5.3.1 and in the SEA templates.
Part 3 - Scoping Guidance
What should you include in a Scoping Report?
5.3.1 Typically, a Scoping Report would include the following information set out clearly and concisely. Such an approach is supported by the Consultation Authorities.
Scoping Component | This should include: | Why should this be included? |
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1. Set the context for the plan, programme or strategy | A brief outline of the main objectives and contents of the PPS. | To allow the Consultation Authorities to understand the nature and content of the PPS |
A summary of relationship with other relevant PPS, which may affect or influence the PPS being assessed. This should include identifying the place of the PPS in the planning hierarchy, where relevant. | To allow the Consultation Authorities to understand the policy context in which the PPS sits, particularly where other PPS may have a significant influence on content and implementation. This is also a requirement of the Environmental Report. |
Summary of the likely changes to the environment if this PPS is not implemented. |
2. Establish the relevant baseline information | Brief summary of the environmental characteristics of those geographic areas that are likely to be significantly affected by the PPS. This should include identification of the relevant environmental data/data sets to be used and possible data gaps. The level of baseline detail intended to be used in the Environmental Report should be indicated. | To allow the key environmental characteristics of the area covered by the PPS and of the issues being experienced to be understood in order that the Consultation Authorities can effectively advise on the scope and level of detail of the assessment. Guidance on establishing the baseline is available in Chapter 8. |
Brief summary of environmental problems / issues experienced in the area which may affect or be affected by the PPS |
3. Scoping in and scoping out those issues to be considered in assessment | Where possible, the Responsible Authority should scope out those environmental receptors listed in Schedule 3 paragraph 6(a) of the Act which the PPS cannot in any way influence or on which it will not have significant effects. Not every PPS subject to SEA will have significant environmental effects on all of the 12 environmental receptors set out in Schedule 3 of the Act. Where this is the case, these issues should be scoped out to avoid wasting time, money and effort. | To allow the Consultation Authorities to provide a view on the scope of the assessment. Which environmental factors should be scoped in and scoped out should be informed by the environmental baseline and the scale, nature and proposed content of the PPS. The geographic scale covered by the PPS and its place in the planning hierarchy will influence the extent to which issues can be scoped out. |
Where there is any doubt about whether an environmental factor should be scoped in or not, then Responsible Authorities should adopt a precautionary approach and include it in the assessment. | Adoption of a precautionary approach is necessary to ensure that potentially significant effects are not inadvertently missed. |
The reasons for scoping issues out should be clearly set out and justified. | To allow the Consultation Authorities to fully understand the reasons why an issue has been scoped out. |
4. If available, identifying reasonable alternatives | If known at this point, a brief description of the type and range of reasonable alternatives that may be assessed should be provided. | To allow the Consultation Authorities early sight of the potential alternatives that may be assessed. The Act requires consideration of "reasonable" alternatives. Not all alternatives can be viable, so consideration of what ones to reject and why would also be helpful at this stage. |
A suitable means to gauge the effects of alternative approaches should be separately identified if the Responsible Authority intends to use a different method to the assessment method used for the draft PPS. |
5. Intended approach to assessment | The Responsible Authority should include in the Scoping Report a brief summary of its proposed assessment technique and the level of detail of the assessment. | To allow the Consultation Authorities to get an idea of the intended approach to the assessment in order to inform their comments on the scope and level of detail. The techniques selected have to be able to cover the range of environmental issues scoped in to the assessment. Chapter 9 and the SEA templates, provide further guidance on developing an assessment method. |
The Responsible Authority should include the proposed SEA objectives, where these are to be used, and indicators, if known. |
6. Proposed period of consultation | The report must identify the proposed time period for consultation on the Environmental Report. Typical consultation periods range from 6 - 12 weeks depending upon the nature and content of the PPS. | This is a requirement of the Act. This period is not specified by the Act but it must offer the Consultation Authorities and the public an early and effective opportunity to express views and opinions. |
5.3.2 Further guidance on the ways in which this information can be provided is set out in the SEA templates. You may also wish to refer to examples which have been submitted by other Responsible Authorities which will be made available through the Scottish Executive SEA webpage. (An SEA database is in development and not currently available.)
How long should a Scoping Report be?
5.3.3 The length of a Scoping Report cannot be prescribed and will to a large extent depend on the:
- nature and complexity of the PPS;
- stage in the planning process at which scoping is carried out;
- amount of information available at the scoping stage.
5.3.4 As a basic guide to ensure scoping reports remain concise, Responsible Authorities should try not to exceed 25 pages in length. Additional information may be provided in Appendices, although these too should be kept concise and summarise information. It is not necessary, for example, to include long lists of the data intended to be used in the assessment in the Scoping Report, but rather a summary of the kinds of data that will be used.
When do you start and complete a Scoping Report?
5.3.5 The point at which a Responsible Authority submits a scoping report is to a large extent dependent on: a) the type of PPS, b) where the Responsible Authority is in its preparation, and c) the timescale for its preparation.
5.3.6 For SEA to have maximum benefit and add value to the PPS preparation, it is important to commence the assessment while reasonable alternatives are still being considered and evaluated, prior to decision-making or a consultation exercise. If scoping is undertaken too early the Responsible Authority runs the danger of not having enough information to undertake scoping effectively. Too late and the Responsible Authority may have already narrowed the field of alternatives prior to proper assessment or documentation.
5.3.7 The timing of scoping is influenced by the preparation timescale for the PPS. For example, if there is a long lead-in or preparation time, then there may be benefits in waiting until more details about the PPS become available. Where the lead-in or preparation time is short, it may be advantageous to submit a Scoping Report earlier to accommodate statutory consultation timescales.
5.3.8 Although not required by the Act, Responsible Authorities may opt to consult more widely on a Scoping Report, to gain early 'buy in' from stakeholders to the merits of the SEA process and to ensure that the various points of view from stakeholders have been identified and considered during preparation of the Environmental Report.
Where do you submit reports to?
5.3.9 The Act states that Responsible Authorities must submit scoping information to the Consultation Authorities. In practice, and as a means to ease administration, Responsible Authorities are asked to submit details via the Scottish Executive SEA Gateway. Contact details are set out in Part 4 of this chapter.
What happens after the Consultation Authorities offer a view?
5.3.10 Following receipt of the Consultation Authorities' response to the scoping consultation, the Responsible Authority shall:
- take account of the views expressed by the Consultation Authorities; and
- write to advise Scottish Ministers of the period of consultation it intends to specify for the public and the Consultation Authorities. This can be done via the Scottish Executive SEA Gateway.
5.3.11 One of the ways in which a Responsible Authority can demonstrate how it has taken into account the Consultation Authorities' views is to provide a simple summary table in the Environmental Report of each view expressed and how it has been dealt with. Further advice on this is provided in Chapter 6.
5.3.12 If the Scottish Ministers do not consider that the proposed period of consultation offers the Consultation Authorities or the public an effective opportunity to express their opinions, they may specify an alternative period, which offers both groups a greater opportunity to comment.
Part 4 - Useful contacts for this stage
5.4.1 Responsible Authorities are asked to submit Scoping Reports via the Scottish Executive SEA Gateway:
Contact details:
SEA Gateway
Area 1-H (Bridge)
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
email address: SEA.Gateway@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
SEA Gateway (helpdesk) 0131 244 5094
5.4.2 The Consultation Authorities have produced an information note 2 for SEA practitioners, which provides advice about the role of the Consultation Authorities and the type of information Responsible Authorities should include in scoping submissions.
5.4.3 The Consultation Authorities welcome early discussions with Responsible Authorities regarding scoping consultations. Please use the contact details provided in Chapter 3.
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