18.Section 7 requires South of Scotland Enterprise to consult about its action plan at least every 5 years. The first consultation is to take place as part of the process by which the first action plan is prepared.
19.At the end of each statutory consultation, South of Scotland Enterprise is to produce a report setting out what, if anything, it intends to do in light of the consultation responses (see subsection (4)). One thing South of Scotland Enterprise may decide to in light of consultation responses is revise its action plan, which it is empowered to do at any time by section 6.
20.Subsection (2) of section 7 requires that South of Scotland Enterprise produce and make publicly available a consultation strategy ahead of carrying out a statutory consultation about its action plan. It must carry out its consultation in accordance with the strategy (see subsection (3)(a)). Subsection (3)(b) requires that South of Scotland Enterprise also seek views from Dumfries and Galloway Council and Scottish Borders Council, being the two local authorities whose areas comprise the South of Scotland as defined by section 21.
21.Subsection (6) of section 7 allows the Scottish Minsters to change the date on which South of Scotland Enterprise would otherwise be required by subsection (1) to begin its next consultation about its action plan. This is to ensure that there can be close alignment, as at the time the Bill for the Act received Royal Assent (i.e. July 2019) and after, between the planning cycles of South of Scotland Enterprise and Scotland’s other enterprise agencies (namely Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise) Should the cycles change and fall out of synchronisation, subsection (6) allows the Scottish Ministers to bring South of Scotland Enterprise’s consultation cycle back into alignment with that of the other enterprise agencies. Any change to the next consultation date is to be effected by regulations which, under section 30 of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, must be laid before the Scottish Parliament.