Chamber and committees

A senior management/organisational structure for Marine Scotland has been decided, comprising a Director and seven functional heads covering:

Marine Planning and Policy;

Aquaculture and Freshwater Policy and Licensing;

Science;

Sea Fisheries Policy;

Compliance;

Performance, and

Priority Projects.

Lower level structures will follow the senior organisational structure. The structure of the organisation will be kept under review in light of experience and developments.

We will be setting out our proposals for marine planning arrangements in the Marine Bill, to be introduced to Parliament shortly.

As part of the Scottish Government, Marine Scotland will take direction, where appropriate, from Scottish ministers and will be responsible directly to them for its activities and decisions. There will be appropriate safeguards in relation to transparency of appeals, enforcement and science.

No responses to the Sustainable Seas for All consultation have been amended in person since the consultation closed.

Integrating responsibility for fisheries policy and management alongside other marine management responsibilities within a single organisation will mean that Marine Scotland can bring to bear the necessary range of experience, expertise and policy interests. Consequently, it will be better placed itself to make and to offer consolidated advice to ministers so that they can make, informed and, where appropriate, balanced judgements and decisions about how best to manage our marine assets and resources. Amongst other things, this should help reassure fishing and other interests that appropriate, sustainable decisions have been taken.

Legislation is not required to establish Marine Scotland. The Marine Bill will create new functions for Scottish ministers, which Marine Scotland will deliver on their behalf.

Marine conservation will be a key priority for Marine Scotland and conservation priorities and objectives will be articulated through the National Marine Plan.

Marine Scotland will take an overarching responsibility for marine management, including through the development of a marine planning framework and national marine plan, and allowing the development of local/regional plans. These will reflect strategic priorities, including in relation to the development of marine renewable energy sources.

Integrating the range of policy, planning, science and other functions within Marine Scotland means that it can bring to bear the necessary range of experience, expertise and policy interests and promote achievement of our key strategic aims in an informed and authoritative way. As part of Scottish Government, it will also be well placed to work with policy colleagues elsewhere in the Scottish Government, its agencies and local government. This sort of integrated approach would be more difficult under a non-departmental public body.

A single study will look at the issues relating to the introduction of permitted development rights for domestic wind turbines and air source heat pumps.

The drafting of recommendations will take place as part of the study and any timescale for implementation will depend on the content of those recommendations.