SCOTTISH COASTAL FORUM (SCF) PLENARY MEETING 26:

9 JUNE 2005 , BROWNE HOUSE CRICHTON CAMPUS, DUMFRIES

Present

Helen Atkin SCF Research Assistant (RA)

Mike Comerford MCA

Rhona Fairgrieve Crown Estate

Alayna Imlah Scottish Executive

David Long BGS

Richard Luxmoore National Trust

Gordon Mann Local Coastal Partnerships (Solway Firth Chair)

Stephen Midgely SCF Project Officer (PO)

Ken Reilly British Ports Association

Jeremy Roberts Solway Firth Partnership

Captain Jim Simpson SCF Chair

Cathy Tilbrook SNH

Fiona Watt Scottish Executive

Mark Williams Scottish Water

Colin Wishart CoSLA

1. Welcome to new Chairman

In the absence of interim Chair Doug McLeod, Cathy Tilbrook welcomed the SCF members to Dumfries and introduced the new chairman, Captain Jim Simpson. There were four high calibre candidates proposed in the recent election, and Cathy thanked all those who had been nominated, and those who voted.

2. Opening remarks from new Chairman

Captain Simpson stated that he was honoured to be elected to Chair, and paid tribute to Captain Tony Wilks, who had led the SCF with great enthusiasm Captain Simpson has been involved in SCF since its inception, and is looking forward to being Chair for the next three years. He acknowledged that this is a very important time for the SCF, and that the main issues that need to be addressed are the SCF's future role, its relationship with the Scottish Executive (SE), and its membership.

3. Welcome to Local Coastal Partnership (LCP) representative

Captain Simpson welcomed Gordon Mann the LCP representative, and also Jeremy Roberts , Project Officer with the Solway Firth Partnership, who is attending as an observer..

4. Apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from John Hermse (Scottish Fisherman's Federation), Derek McGlashan (CoastNet), Neil Ferguson (Scottish Enterprise), Stephen Cummings (Sport Scotland), Neil Black (Visit Scotland), and Doug McLeod (Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers), and Scot Mathieson (SEPA) .

5. Minutes of last meeting - 17 March, Dunstaffnage ( Paper SCF/26/1)

The minutes of the last meeting were approved, with the following amendments: in the attendee list, Colin Wishart is listed as representing Highland Council - this should be amended to read CoSLA. Mark Williams of Scottish Water also asked that item 12, lines 5-6 "completed investment plans" should be amended to read "obtained further information on Q & S III".

ACTION: Fiona Watt to amend minutes as above.

6. Agreement on the Statements of Organisation (SOO)

The SOO document was circulated to the SCF for comments prior to the last plenary meeting, and amended and re-circulated in light of comments received. The SOO set out the four-point remit of the SCF which has existed since its inception. It was noted that advice to Ministers is more strongly stated in this document than is currently the case, as since Devolution, it was felt that the SE has become more distant, and the SCF has played less of a government advisory role.

It was agreed that following publication of Scotland's Coasts would be a good opportunity to revise the SOO, in particular the Terms of Reference (TOR). These were drawn up, and can be altered by the SCF. Captain Simpson noted that the original TOR had been submitted to Ministers for approval, and Alayna Imlah stated that under current guidelines, Ministers can only approve the TOR for an NDPB, and would not therefore approve future TOR's, however, it would be sensible to inform Ministers of changes to the SCF's TOR. Mike Comerford asked the SCF to consider its political position and to be wary of distancing itself from the SE. Altering the TOR may legitimise the SE to alter the terms of the SCF, which would be undesirable.

It was agreed that the remit of the SCF should be reviewed as part of wider review of SCF altogether, perhaps with totally new TOR. It was agreed to take the all points raised and bring forward to address at a future meeting when there would be wider representation of SCF Forum members, and adequate time to address these important points regarding the future of the SCF, its SOO and TOR.

It was noted that the Steering Group (SG) have already discussed a renewed remit and have drafted a structure for review of SCF, and it was felt that it would be beneficial to make a statement to the SE setting out how the SCF views itself, and the role it should play in developing coastal and marine policy, before any policy announcement later this year. It was agreed that the "where we are now" statement in the SOO was correct, however, the fourth statement regarding a quorum was questioned. The PO stated the quorate figure of 45% was set from articles of association of other organisations, however it was decided that this system would not necessarily work for the SCF as attendance at Plenary meetings was variable, and it was agreed instead that majority of decision making should simply be by a vote agreed through achieving a majority of members present.

The role of the various posts within the SCF were then discussed. It was agreed that the statements on the nomination process of the Vice Chair (VC) can be left as they are not agreed at this stage. The PO position, and its relation to the SE appears to be clear. It was asked whether the statement reflected the role of the SE in directing the role of the PO post. The post is funded by three external organisations, with the SE making an additional contribution, being responsible for line management, and providing travel and subsistence costs, and it was felt this should be fully reflected in the SOO.

ACTION: All: Send comments on SOO to PO.

ACTION: PO to produce revised SOO.

7. Discussion of VC position

It was agreed that there should be a permanent VC for the SCF. The VC position was discussed at the last meeting, and it was noted that the SOO has a formal process for nominations and election of VC. However as the SOO has not yet been agreed and adopted by the SCF it was proposed that a VC be voted in at this meeting, and the majority of members agreed. Cathy Tilbrook suggested that it was sensible to have someone already in SCF, and asked for nominations for an informal vote. It was noted that although some members were absent, most were present and an informal vote was agreed upon. Colin Wishart nominated Mike Comerford, this was seconded, and agreed by the SCF. Mike accepted the 3 year position, subject to the same principles as the position of Chair. Captain Simpson welcomed Mike to his new position., and thanked him for his support.

8. Widening Membership

PO proposed widening the SCF membership. Suggestions so far include:

a) SARF (Bill Ritchie - who has already worked with the SCF)

b) BMF/RYA (Yachting issues)

c) RAFTS.

These are not formal proposals, but are being put forward for consideration. Cathy Tilbrook noted that aquaculture, and the oil industries are underrepresented in the SCF, and that more representatives of these groups should be encouraged to attend. It was however noted that shipping is currently covered by the British Ports Association, and that Doug McLeod represents the shellfish growers. It was agreed that it would be better to delay decisions on new membership until the review has been carried out. There was a also a short discussion about asking the British Chamber of Shipping to join, and also the oil industry, by making an approach to UKOOA.

ACTION: Rhona Fairgrieve to send PO a paragraph on RAFTS for circulation.

9. New work programme for the coming year

a) EU ICZM recommendation.

Although this was an agenda item, it was not discussed specifically, instead it was covered in the general discussions on the SE's developing Marine and Coastal Strategy.

b) EU and SE Marine and Coastal Strategy

Alayna Imlah started by setting out the current policy direction within the SE, and the paper provided (handout on day is now superseded by Ministerial announcement) set out how the SE propose to take forward SCF consultation and SE strategy consultation, namely that a Marine and Coastal Strategy will be published in August. The strategy will set out the SE vision for the marine and coastal environment, the main drivers and pressures, take on board the responses to the "Strategic Framework' consultation. It will also address, the SCF draft strategy for Scotland's coasts, and set out a mechanism by which decisions can be reached on more complex issues such as the need for legislation or a statutory system of marine spatial planning.

It was pointed out that England have already taken these decisions and are clear on their intention to bring forward a marine bill to implement marine spatial planning, and suggested that there would be a gap around Scotland out to 12nm which was not covered in such legislation. Alayan Imlah commented that Ministers had not ruled out the need for marine legislation or marine spatial planning, however they wished to carefully consider their policy objectives before taking decisions on delivery mechanisms. The process by which decisions would be made will be via a new Ministerially-chaired committee, the remit and membership of which will be set out in the August strategy, with the first meeting of the new committee ideally taking place in September/October. This committee will be a high-level group, with the chairs of various existing groups and organisations, such as the SCF, being invited to join. Alayna stated that she anticipated a close working relationship with the forum in developing policy on the implementation of ICZM throughout Scotland.

It was noted that a lot of time has already been spent on the Marine Strategy, with the consultation "Developing a strategic Framework for Scotland's Marine Environment" issuing over a year ago, and some members expressed concern that setting up a Ministerially-chaired working group would mean even more time would pass before decisions were taken, and Scotland would be 'left behind' in comparison to the rest of the UK. The need to set up a new committee was also questioned when the SCF was composed of the sort of stakeholders who would be invited to join the Ministerial committee. Alayna Imlah pointed out that the timescale for DEFRA's marine bill meant introduction not earlier than 2007. This would give Ministers the option to bring forward parallel Scottish legislation if this was considered necessary.

Additionally, the SE will be fully involved in the development of an English bill, most probably with a seat on their project board once it is set up. With regard to the role of the SCF and the need to set up a new committee Alayna pointed out that membership would be at a higher level than the current SCF membership, e.g. Chair, CEOs etc. and the committee will have a relatively short lifetime of approximately one year. It was noted by SCF members that, as the over-arching advisory and co-ordinating body, the SCF should ideally have been able to fulfil this role but, even though it does not fulfil this role at present, hopefully the SCF will play a more active role in developing policy and advising government in the future.

c) SCF strategy for Scotland's Coast and Inshore Waters

All the comments on this strategy are now available, and Alayna Imlah asked the SCF if they wanted to take them on board. Kara Brydson felt that it was the responsibility of the SE to now undertake further analysis of the responses to the SCF strategy, and was worried that the time and effort people put into responding to the consultation would be wasted. Alayna Imlah pointed out that the SE did not write the strategy, and cannot amend a document it has never formally accepted - to ensure that the responses received were taken on board it is for the SCF to analyse them further.

Colin Wishart pointed out that he had thought that the SE was only conducting the consultation as a favour to the SCF, and that the coastal strategy was a draft and that he would like the opportunity to revise it. Alayana Imlah stated that the responsibility of the SE was to produce and publish a factual summary of responses, and send a letter to all those initially consulted informing them of the next steps - and that this would happen shortly.

After some debate Captain Simpson agreed that the SCF should review the responses to the Strategy, and it was suggested that a sub-group be set up to deal with this. Volunteers could take a section each and identify in general terms which comments would be taken on board. The SE has not yet provided enough information to enable this to happen, but Alayna Imlah will publish the summary, and provide copies of the responses to the PO

PO stated that there is an immediate requirement to get key issues for Ministerial committee in October, and it is hoped the Minister will task the SCF to take forward these issues. The SE will publish summary of responses but under no obligation to say whether they will take these comments on board. This is advisory document only - the SCF can only hope that it will be influential -and it is strongly hoped that the agreed revision is the final one for a few years.

ACTION: Alayna Imlah to provide summary of responses to PO.

ACTION: PO to circulate SE summary and all responses to SCF.

ACTION: PO and Rhona Fairgrieve to produce/request amendments from sectoral Task Groups on SCF's views on comments received for November plenary meeting.

ACTION: PO and Alayna Imlah to agree summary of responses to SCF strategy with Captain Jim Simpson.

ACTION: PO to draft letter informing consultees that the SCF will undertake the further, more detailed analysis, and present this back to government.

10. Presentation of paper from LCPs

Gordon Mann thanked the SCF for the opportunity to make this presentation, as the new SCF representative acting for all LCPs. Gordon is presently employed by the Crichton Development Company, but also represents the west area board for SNH. He has a planning background, and has worked for Dumfries and Galloway and Shetland Islands, and Banff & Buchan District Council. Gordon aims to promote the involvement of a wide range of groups with LCPs, as opposed to just estuary-based partnerships, and is currently identifying networks to increase this involvement, as he is aware that the main challenge facing LCPs at present is that of improving communications.

To improve information dissemination, he advocates setting up a system to allow the LCPs and other groups which have related concerns to network effectively. As agreed at the previous SCF Plenary, it is the intention that the LCPs will produce a joint paper, as a standing item for future Plenary meetings, covering the main issues faced by various groups.

11. Review of SCF & Working Group on ICZM implementation across Scotland

a) Review of SCF

Cathy Tilbrook circulated a paper (attached), setting out a draft structure for review of SCF. This has been discussed in the SCF Steering Group, and there was a general agreement from the Plenary that it would be appropriate to conduct a full review of the SCF at this stage, in order to influence the SE Ministers on our potential future role. It was suggested that an independent consultant be employed to work with SCF SG, to provide early feedback to back up the work of the new Chair.

It was agreed that the timescale for this work needs to be short. PO has already investigated some consultancies which have done similar work, costing in the region of £5-6k. Members were asked to consider contributing to the cost of this project, or to suggest any possible consultants. SG members would work with the consultants to try and complete the review within a 3 month timescale, and it was suggested that members might be approached by the consultant For individual interviews. A special workshop was suggested for SCF members to discuss a draft review report and agree recommendations.

ACTION: Members to investigate contributions of £500-£1000 each for Review of SCF.

ACTION: Members to investigate suitable consultants, and inform PO.

ACTION: Chair/PO/steering group to agree remit/tender document for review at 18 July meeting to circulate to consultants.

ACTION: PO to organise venue for workshop on Tuesday 20 September 2005.

b) ICZM Working Group (WG)

It was noted that the membership of this Working Group (WG) has now changed, and that it currently consists of PO, Alayna Imlah, Cathy Tilbrook, Rhona Fairgrieve, Colin Wishart, and Gordon Mann, with a representative of SEPA joining soon. The WG are currently looking at the structure, remit and membership of the main coastal management initiatives. The group have a list based on existing partnerships and initiatives but are looking to expand this. Rhona Fairgrieve suggested adding renewables/oil and gas, and asked for any other comments.

It was also suggested that the WG look at existing boundaries of initiatives, to see what has already been successful, and also to explore different ways of splitting up coast of Scotland, such as by LAs, SEPA coastguard boundaries, regional seas boundaries etc. A key part of this is also to identify which areas of the coast have 'gaps' i.e. where no local partnerships exist. At present the east coast is covered by LCP's but it is evident that some areas on north and west coast have no formal structure - the LA's can perhaps play a coordinating role in such areas. Offshore boundary issues were then discussed. SIFAG have now got a sub group set up to explore geographical boundaries in lieu of the planned fisheries management boards and are trying to get maps and definitive lists together, Kara Brydson is leading this SIFAG sub group, and it was suggested that Kara join the SCF WG.

It was also discussed whether we need new ICZM criteria, or whether this would be too restrictive. It was agreed that different levels of ICZM may be needed in different parts of Scotland. A full report of the working groups findings will be made at the next plenary meeting.

ACTION: All to comment on gaps in list of current coastal management initiatives.

12. State of the Coast Report for Scotland .

Helen Atkin presented the latest version of the State of the Coast Report for Scotland to the SCF. This will be available in final form on CD Rom and on the SCF website. Members showed their appreciation for the tremendous amount of work Helen has done to complete this work.

The revision of this draft now falls to the SCF. It was agreed that the next step is evaluation, to identify any gaps in data, which may take another 3 months. It was suggested that it may be necessary to create a data warehouse, along similar lines to the proposed Scottish Marine Observatory (SMO). However, the FRS and SAMS proposal is purely marine, whereas this data incorporates data on many other topics. Whatever form this may take, it requires regular updating. PO has now written the business plan for the SMO report and is asking for comments.

ACTION: All: to read draft State of the Coast Report and send comments to PO.

ACTION: PO to draft up proposals to take forward.

ACTION: PO to put SEGIS maps on SCF website.

13. Solway Shellfish Management.

Stephen Alexander and Alex Watson. from Solway Shellfish Management Association gave a presentation on the challenges of shellfishery protection on the Solway Firth. They have recently put together a draft for the Solway Firth Regulating Order Management Plan.. this Regulation Order is sought for Fisheries of mussels and cockles in the Solway Firth, in order to allow sustainable fishing for these species without causing detrimental impact to the ecology of the area. By licensing the fisheries, limiting the number of licences issued, and restricting the conditions of gathering and dredging, it is hoped that the local environment and shellfish stocks will be protected. The effects of these measures on the environment will be continually monitored.

14. Marine & Coastal Development in Dumfries and Galloway .

Jeremy Roberts gave a presentation highlighting the varied and extensive work programme of the Solway Firth Partnership over the last 11 years. Recent initiatives included the proposed setting up of a Fisheries Forum, input to the Robin rigg offshore windfarm development process, work on European Marine sites, and maintaining a cross-border discussion forum.

15. Any other business

Alayna Imlah and Cathy Tilbrook agreed to put together a press release about the new Chair, VC, and Strategy Review for approval by the SG.

Colin Wishart has been invited to be part of an RTPI Task Force on marine spatial planning, which is a UK initiative hosted by England and Wales this month. Colin agreed to report back to the SCF on this, and will provide a paragraph for the TOR with regard to marine spatial planning.

Cathy Tilbrook stated that DEFRA are currently leading on marine spatial planning in the Irish Sea, and are now at the draft stage of a spatial plan, which will be fed into the forthcoming workshop in Liverpool. Alayna Imlah and PO will attend this.

ACTION: Alayna Imlah and Cathy Tilbrook to formulate press release as above.

ACTION: Colin Wishart to report back on RTPI Task Force on marine spatial planning.

ACTION: PO or Alayna Imlah to report back on Liverpool workshop.

16. Next meeting Date

· Tuesday 20 September -workshop/presentation from consultants on SCF review. Venue tba.

• Monday 7 November - 27th Plenary meeting. Inverness, venue: Highland Council Offices.