Background to the WEWS Act
The decision was taken to use primary legislation to
transpose the requirements of the directive. This would
ensure that full Scottish Parliamentary scrutiny was given
to the proposed legislation.
Stakeholders views were sought on the full range of
issues through two detailed consultation papers, and after
taking on board the responses the draft Bill was introduced
to the Scottish Parliament in 2002. The proposals also
received detailed consideration by the Transport and
Environment Committee, and several key amendments were
introduced through that process.
After the full Parliamentary process was concluded, the
Water Environment and Water Services Act received Royal
Assent in March 2003.
Relations with Stakeholders
The Act was strengthened by the open participatory
process adopted during its development, and working with
stakeholders will continue to be a key element of the
implementation process. As part of the process Ministers
have set up a National Stakeholder Forum. Further
information can be found on the
National Stakeholder Forum web page.
In considering the implementation of the Water Framework
Directive the Executive is committed to a policy of
openness in engaging with all stakeholders.
The department has adopted certain key principles which
will be applied during the implementation process.
The key principles are:
- openness in sharing information wherever
possible;
- clear understanding of status, objectives,
conduct and roles in any specific policy
development exercises;
- creating an atmosphere of trust through on
going dialogue on issues of common concern.
Designation of River Basin Districts
The final issue that remains for transposition in
Scotland is the designation of river basin districts.
Further to our earlier consultations we are now proposing
to designate a single river basin district for most of
Scotland.
Arrangements for the cross-border area with England have
yet to be finalised. Our current preference is to designate
a single cross-border district covering both the Tweed and
Solway catchments. The thinking behind this is principally
one of scale - if the majority of Scotland is designated as
a single river basin district then it seems practical to
apply the same sense of scale to the cross-border area.
These proposals were the subject of a short consultation
which was published on 3 September, and can be viewed by
clicking
here.
Further detailed consideration is still to be given to
the arrangements which will need to be put in place for the
river basin planning process in such a district, and early
discussions have already taken place with SEPA and the
Environment Agency. The detailed proposals for such
arrangements will be issued this year, and consultation
with key stake-holders will be carried out. It will be
important to manage potential differences in regulation and
duties in a practical and sensitive manner and this will be
a key objective.
Responsible Authorities
We have transposed the Directive by identifying SEPA as
the lead authority in the Act; and of course Scottish
Ministers also have clearly defined responsibilities.
But the Act also allows for the designation of other
responsible authorities, to ensure that all relevant bodies
have regard to the requirements of the Directive in
carrying out specific functions, which must also be
identified by the designation process. For example,
designated authorities must have regard to the social and
economic impact of their functions; they must promote
sustainable flood management and contribute to the
achievement of sustainable development.
We will be giving consideration during the course of
this year to which other bodies should be designated as
'responsible authorities' and which of their functions
should be designated.
As part of this process the draft discussion paper below
was distributed in July to public bodies who have been
considered for designation. The paper can be accessed by
clicking here.
The Scottish Executive and SEPA are approaching
implementation on the basis of five themes.
More information is provided on these themes in later
sections.