Citation, commencement, extent and interpretation

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Scotland Act 1998 (Transfer of Functions to the Scottish Ministers etc.) Order 2025 and comes into force on the day after the day on which it is made.

(2) This Order extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

(3) In this Order—

“the 1989 Act” means the Electricity Act 1989(2);

“the 2023 Act” means the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023(3);

“the Scottish REZ area” means the area designated by the Renewable Energy Zone (Designation of Area) (Scottish Ministers) Order 2005(4) as the area in relation to which the Scottish Ministers are to have functions.

Functions to be treated as being exercisable in or as regards Scotland

2.—(1) The functions to which paragraph (2) applies are, for the purposes of section 63 of the Scotland Act 1998 (power to transfer functions)(5), to be treated as being functions which are exercisable in or as regards Scotland.

(2) This paragraph applies to the functions of making regulations that are conferred on the Secretary of State by Part 6 of the 2023 Act (environmental outcomes reports), so far as they are exercisable by the Secretary of State in relation to the assessment of the effects on the environment in connection with—

(a)applications for consent under section 36 of the 1989 Act(6) for the construction, extension or operation of a generating station in the Scottish REZ area (including any application for approval, consent or agreement required by virtue of a condition included in the grant of such a consent), or

(b)applications for the variation, under section 36C of the 1989 Act(7), of a consent described in sub-paragraph (a).

(3) But paragraph (2) does not apply to the making of provision within section 159(2) of the 2023 Act (power to provide exemptions for national defence and civil emergency etc).

Functions to be exercisable concurrently by the Secretary of State and the Scottish Ministers

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the functions mentioned in paragraph (3) are, so far as they are exercisable by the Secretary of State in or as regards Scotland, to be exercisable by the Scottish Ministers concurrently with the Secretary of State.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may exercise a functionby virtue of this article only after consulting the Secretary of State.

(3) The functions are—

(a)the functions of making regulations that are conferred by—

(i)Chapter 1 of Part 3 of the 2023 Act (planning data); and

(ii)Part 6 of the 2023 Act, except so far as relating to the making of provision within section 159(2) of that Act;

(b)the function conferred by section 84(3) of the 2023 Act (publication of approved data standards),

so far as the functions are exercisable by the Secretary of State in relation to the assessment of the effects on the environment in connection with applications to which paragraph (4) applies.

(4) This paragraph applies to—

(a)applications for consent under section 36 of the 1989 Act for the construction, extension or operation of generating stations (whether in Scotland or in the Scottish REZ area) (including any application for approval, consent or agreement required by virtue of a condition included in the grant of such a consent);

(b)applications for the variation, under section 36C of the 1989 Act, of a consent described in sub-paragraph (a);

(c)applications for consent under section 37 of the 1989 Act (consent required for overhead lines)(8) for the installation, or the keeping installed, of an electric line in Scotland (including any application for approval, consent or agreement required by virtue of a condition included in the grant of such a consent).

(5) Paragraph 1 of Schedule 13 to the 2023 Act (restriction on making provision outside devolved competence) does not apply in relation to regulations made by the Scottish Ministers by virtue of this article under—

(a)Chapter 1 of Part 3 of the 2023 Act; or

(b)Part 6 of that Act.

Modifications of the 2023 Act

4.—(1) For the purposes of any function that is exercisable by the Scottish Ministers by virtue of article 3 of this Order—

(a)any reference to an appropriate authority in Chapter 1 of Part 3 or Part 6 of the 2023 Act is to be read as if it were a reference to the Scottish Ministers;

(b)any reference in Chapter 1 of Part 3 or Part 6 of, or Schedule 24 to, the 2023 Act to regulations made by the Scottish Ministers acting alone (including in their capacity as a devolved authority) is to be read as if it included a reference to regulations made by the Scottish Ministers by virtue of article 3;

(c)section 166(2)(c) of the 2023 Act (EOR regulations: further provision) has effect as if for “any legislation” there were substituted “any provision made by or under an Act of the Scottish Parliament”.

(2) For the purposes of any function carried out by a public authority (within the meaning of section 167 of the 2023 Act (interpretation of Part 6)) under or by virtue of Part 6 of the 2023 Act, references in section 163(1) and (5) of the 2023 Act (guidance) to regulations made by a devolved authority acting alone are to be read as if they included references to regulations made by the Scottish Ministers by virtue of article 3.