Section 15 - Other authorities’ duty to have due regard to the guiding principles
86.Section 15 ensures that the guiding principles have effect on all decisions of public authorities in Scotland, other than reserved bodies (as defined in the Scotland Act 1998), with the potential for significant impacts on the environment. It provides that where these public authorities are responsible authorities in terms of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005, they must have due regard to the principles when doing anything in respect of which the duty under section 1 of that Act applies. That requires responsible authorities to carry out environmental assessments under that Act when preparing certain plans or programmes. Subsection (2) defines “responsible authority” in line with the 2005 Act (see section 2 of that Act), and excludes the effect of this section on the Scottish Ministers and Ministers of the Crown because the duty placed on the Scottish Ministers and Ministers of the Crown by section 14 applies to developing policy, which is wider than the circumstances to which the duty under section 1 of the 2005 Act applies.
