Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014

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Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014
Act of the Scottish Parliament
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (Scotland).svg
Long title An Act of the Scottish Parliament to enable provision to be made for the purpose of promoting regulatory consistency; to make provision in relation to primary authorities; to enable provision to be made, and to make provision, as respects regulatory activities, and offences, relating to the environment; to make provision about regulatory functions relating to marine licensing, planning and street traders’ licences; and for connected purposes.
Citation 2014 asp 3
Introduced by John Swinney MSP [1]
Territorial extentFlag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
Dates
Royal assent 19 February 2014 [2]
Commencement 20 February 2014 (in part) [3]
Other legislation
Amends
Status: Current legislation
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament, introduced to the legislature in 2013, and became law after receiving Royal Assent on 19 February 2014. It sought to improve the regulation of businesses requiring certain environmental permits within Scotland whilst strengthening existing protections of the environment.

Act of the Scottish Parliament acts passed by the devolved Scottish Parliament, 1997 onwards

An Act of the Scottish Parliament is primary legislation made by the Scottish Parliament. The power to create Acts was conferred to the Parliament by section 28 of the Scotland Act 1998 following the successful 1997 referendum on devolution.

Contents

History

John Swinney MSP introduced the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Bill to Parliament on 27 March 2013, supported by Paul Wheelhouse MSP and Fergus Ewing MSP. [1] It passed through the various stages in Parliament between November 2013 and January 2014 and received Royal Assent on 19 February 2014, [2] with Part 5 of the Act (excluding section 57) coming into force the following day. The legislation allowed for the remainder of the Act to come into force on a future date at the will of the Scottish Ministers. [3] The Act arose from recommendations made to the Government by the Environmental Crime Task Force. [5]

John Swinney Deputy First Minister of Scotland

John Ramsay Swinney is a Scottish politician serving as Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills. He previously held the post of Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy, until that role was divided into two posts in the second Sturgeon government as a result of the expansion of the Scottish Parliament's financial powers. He is also the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Perthshire North, having previously represented North Tayside (1999–2011).

Paul Wheelhouse Scottish politician

Paul Richard William Wheelhouse is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands since 26 June 2018. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region since 2011 and Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy in the Scottish Government from May 2016 to June 2018.

Fergus Ewing Scottish politician

Fergus Stewart Ewing is a Scottish politician, serving as the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Inverness and Nairn.

Regulatory changes

The Act attempts to make it easier for businesses to apply for certain permits and licences in Scotland, while strengthening environmental regulations to protect the country's natural heritage. Businesses will be able to apply for a single permit for a site where several would have been required previously. In addition, it gives courts additional sentencing powers in relation to environmental crime and give the Scottish Environment Protection Agency more powers to enforce laws. A new criminal offence of causing environmental harm has also been created. [6] [7]

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is Scotland’s environmental regulator and national flood forecasting, flood warning and strategic flood risk management authority. Its main role is to protect and improve Scotland's environment. SEPA does this by helping business and industry to understand their environmental responsibilities, enabling customers to comply with legislation and good practice and to realise the economic benefits of good environmental practice. One of the ways SEPA does this is through the NetRegs environmental guidance service. It protects communities by regulating activities that can cause harmful pollution and by monitoring the quality of Scotland's air, land and water. The regulations it implements also cover the storage, transport and disposal of radioactive materials.

See also

Environmental crime illegal act which directly harms the environment

Environmental crime is an illegal act which directly harms the environment. International bodies such as the G8, Interpol, European Union, United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute have recognised the following environmental crimes:

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References

  1. 1 2 "Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Bill [As Introduced]" (PDF). parliament.scot. The Scottish Parliament. 28 March 2013. p. 62. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Bill". Parliament.scot. The Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, Section 61: Commencement". Legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  4. "Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, Schedule 3". Legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  5. "Legislation". gov.scot. The Scottish Government. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  6. "Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014". netregs.org.uk. NetRegs. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  7. "Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act". gov.scot. The Scottish Government. Retrieved 13 October 2016.