Scotland’s National Marine Plan (NMP) was published in 2015 and following statutory reviews on the current plan, last year Scottish Ministers committed to update and replace the NMP (NMP2).

The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 requires that a sustainability appraisal is undertaken to assess the impact of the proposed policies within the National Marine Plan 2 will have on marine sectors, communities and the marine environment. This includes a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). This process is designed to allow for assessment of draft planning policies to determine likely significant impacts of these policies on the environment, and subsequent adjustment to policy in the plan where required, to minimise identified impacts.

An Environmental Report that outlines the findings of the environmental assessment will be produced and will be consulted upon alongside the draft plan and other associated assessments.

The first stage in the SEA is a scoping exercise culminating in the production of a scoping report. The report sets out the remit of the SEA, including determining the level of detail to be covered in the assessment, and an early consideration of potential environmental impacts. The SEA scoping report includes background on NMP2, outlines the broad policy context and environmental baseline, and proposes a draft methodology for assessment. The draft scoping report has been developed with input from key stakeholders.

This consultation on the SEA scoping report for the NMP2 will run until 30 October 2023. Feedback provided during the consultation will feed into the SEA process. A summary of responses received and actions undertaken will be published in an annex to the Enivronmental Report.

You can read the SEA scoping report here.

The consultation can be responded to here.