The Scottish Government has issued the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Data Centres exceeding 50 MW Power Capacity) (Scotland) Direction 2026. The planning direction, made under regulation 50 of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017, SSI 2017/102, requires an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for certain new data centres developments with a power capacity exceeding 50 MW. Data centres that do not meet the 50 MW threshold will continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis under the existing EIA Regulations. The Direction is intended to ensure that potentially significant environmental effects are considered from the outset and will be reviewed periodically to take account of evolving technology in the sector. It was developed with input from the Scottish Science Advisory Council.

The Scottish Government has launched the Green Industrial Strategy (GIS) as part of the Programme for Government 2024-25, aiming to realise the economic opportunities and benefits of the global transition to net zero. It sets out key priorities, including maximising Scotland’s wind economy, developing a self-sustaining carbon capture, utilisation and storage sector, supporting green economy professional and financial services that have global reach, growing the hydrogen sector, and establishing Scotland as a competitive centre for clean Energy Intensive Industries of the future. To support the delivery of the GIS, the Scottish Government has also published an evidence paper on the offshore wind focus, providing an overview of the Government's strategic assessment of the market opportunities and next steps that will underpin the public sector’s collective investment decisions in offshore wind.

The Scottish Government has launched the Fairer Workplaces Fund, aiming to benefit current workplace practices and contribute to the Scottish Government's goal of creating a Fair Work Nation. The fund is for third and private sector employers to deliver new projects supporting flexible working practices and improving diversity, equality and inclusion in the workplace. Projects through the fund should contribute to reducing the gender pay gap, halving the disability employment gap, address employment barriers for minority ethnic workers and workers over 50 and reduce Scotland's level of economic inactivity.

The Scottish Government has launched a call for evidence to inform its review of fire‑safety‑related building standards, including a fundamental review of Section 2 (Fire) of the Technical Handbooks, in response to recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report. The consultation seeks views on proposed changes to fire safety guidance, the role of the compliance plan manager, and the wider compliance plan approach, with the aim of improving fire safety in the design and construction of all buildings. It also fulfils commitments arising from the Inquiry and from the 2018 Review Panel on Building Standards Compliance and Enforcement, which highlighted the need to strengthen compliance within Scotland’s building standards system. The call for evidence will help shape potential amendments to the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 and associated guidance, and assess stakeholder support for possible legislative change, particularly in relation to high‑risk building types. The consultation closes on 10 April 2026.

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on the proposed Building Safety Levy, which would apply to the construction of new residential buildings. The Scottish Government is seeking views and evidence on how the Levy should be structured and operate, based on the distinct characteristics and needs of the housing market in Scotland. Revenue from the Levy will be used to support the Scottish Government's Cladding Remediation Programme. The consultation closes on 18 November 2024.

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation seeking views on implementing rent control powers under the Housing (Scotland) Bill. The consultation addresses potential property exemptions from rent controls and circumstances where increases above the proposed cap of consumer price index plus 1%, to a maximum of 6%, may be permitted. The consultation, running until 18 July 2025, also covers new processes for ending joint Private Residential Tenancies. The Bill, introduced to Parliament on 26 March 2024, would allow Scottish Ministers to designate rent control areas following local authority assessment and stakeholder consultation.

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation under the Scottish Procurement Policy Note (SPPN) 3/2025 to seek views on proposed amendments to the financial thresholds within the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. The consultation invites responses on whether to revise the Act’s goods, services, works and community benefit thresholds, which have remained unchanged since 2014 and have effectively reduced in real terms due to inflation. It presents three options for adjusting the goods, services and works thresholds—retaining current levels (£50,000 and £2m), increasing them in line with inflation (£70,000 and £2.8m), or applying a higher increase (£100,000 and £4m)—and four options for the community benefits threshold, currently £4m: maintaining it or reducing it to £3m, £2m or £1m. The consultation highlights that the community benefits threshold cannot fall below that for regulated contracts and invites public bodies and stakeholders to provide feedback on the proposed changes. The consultation closes on 8 January 2026.

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has announced the launch of the Scottish government's consultation to amend the Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) Dissolution Regulations. The proposed changes stem from recommendations made by the SCIO Dissolution Working Group in 2020 and include new powers for the OSCR to remove non-compliant SCIOs without court intervention, streamlined dissolution processing, enhanced creditor protections, and provisions for restoring dissolved SCIOs. A significant aspect of the amendments focuses on risk mitigation, with measures designed to ensure dissolution processes reach their intended conclusion. This addresses previous concerns about incomplete or abandoned procedures that could leave stakeholders in legal limbo. The consultation runs until 11 September 2025 and OSCR encourages all stakeholders—including charity trustees, legal professionals, and third-sector organisations—to contribute their views on these proposed changes before the September deadline.

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on proposed amendments to the Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (Removal from Register and Dissolution) Regulations 2011. Running from 20 June 2025 to 11 September 2025, the consultation seeks views on modifications to SCIO dissolution applications, removal from the Scottish Charity Register, and restoration processes. These proposals follow recommendations from a 2019 working group, although implementation was delayed by COVID-19 and the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023. Depending on the consultation outcomes, the government plans to introduce amendment regulations to the Scottish Parliament in early 2026. The amendments will be made under sections 64 and 103 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005.

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on the proposed introduction of a charge for single-use disposable beverage cups. The consultation closes on 14 November 2024. Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, Gillian Martin, stated that ‘introducing a national charge could provide consistency for consumers, provide a level playing field for retail and businesses and help to drive forward sustainable behaviours. Our proposed approach is similar to the charge for single-use carrier bags and will be familiar to both suppliers and the public. We hope this means that it will minimise any administrative burden on businesses and make it easy for individuals and organisations to adopt.’

The Scottish Government has launched a public consultation, seeking views on the Scottish National Adaptation Plan 2024 to 2029. The consultation places specific focus on local and lived experience and recognises that the impact of climate change will differ greatly between communities over Scotland. Therefore, the Scottish Government will be running a series of events alongside the consultation, aimed at both delivery partners and the general public in order to collect a range of views on the proposals. This consultation closes on 24 April 2024.

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on proposed reforms to the community right to buy. The consultation seeks to streamline existing processes in response to feedback that current procedures are complex and demanding. It explores improvements across various stages of the community right to buy process, including merging the four existing rights to buy into two categories (compulsory and non-compulsory purchase rights), lowering the community membership threshold from 75% to over 50%, extending registration periods beyond five years and revising the process for late applications. This supports commitments made in the Scottish Government’s 2024–2025 Programme for Government. The consultation, which forms Phase 3 of a four-phase review announced in March 2024, will close on 5 October 2025. Responses will inform final proposals to be submitted to Scottish Ministers by December 2025.