The Scottish Government is modernising flooding legislation and accompanying policies. The centrepiece of this work is the new Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009.
The Act creates a framework in which the organisations involved in flood risk management can coordinate actions to deliver sustainable approaches to managing the causes and consequences of flooding. Central to this work will be the preparation of new assessments and plans to coordinate flood management actions.
To support the implementation of the Act and the development of accompanying legislation and policies, the Scottish Government has established a Scottish Advisory and Implementation Forum on Flooding (SAIFF). SAIFF comprises representatives from the government, government agencies, local authorities and other stakeholders. In addition to supporting the work of the Scottish Government, SAIFF will provide technical support to all parties involved in the implementation of the Act and the EC Floods Directive.
Advice on flooding matters has been provided to the Scottish Government through a variety of groups and Committees. This advice has helped the Scottish Government and public bodies take forward important improvements to how flooding is assessed and managed across Scotland. In recent years, much of this work focused on the development of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009.