Integrated Sustainability Appraisal - Scoping Report (ISA)

Chapter 2 Screening

2.1 As recommended by the Development Plans Manual⁴, Isle of Anglesey County Council is taking an integrated approach to the SA/SEA and other assessment processes for the new LDP. This chapter sets out the screening exercise that has been carried out in relation to these other assessments. For each one, consideration is given to:

• The legislative requirements.
• Relevant guidance documents.
• Whether and how the assessment will be undertaken including whether it will be integrated within the SA/SEA or carried out separately.

2.2 Where it is concluded that the requirements of other assessments will be addressed through the ISA framework, more information about this can be found in Chapter 6 which presents the framework.

SA/SEA

2.3 As described in Chapter 2, it is a legal requirement for the LDP to be subject to SA and SEA; therefore there is no requirement to carry out SEA Screening. The integrated SA/SEA will be the main component of the wider ISA process and it will be undertaken to meet the requirements of the SEA Regulations (Wales) as detailed in Table 1.1.

Health Impact Assessment

2.4 As set out in the Development Plans Manual, the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 requires a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) to be carried out by public bodies. The circumstances in which an HIA must be undertaken and how this should be carried out will be set out in detail in statutory regulations, as directed by the First Minister⁵. Between December 2023 and March 2024, Welsh Government consulted on these draft regulations⁶ and according to its website, details of the outcome will be published in due course. Once the new regulations are published, they will be reviewed and their implications for the new Anglesey LDP will be considered.

2.5 HIA is defined in the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 as "…an assessment of the likely effect, both in the short term and in the long term, of a proposed action or decision on the physical and mental health of the people of Wales or of some of the people of Wales."

2.6 The importance of ensuring good health through planning is emphasised in Planning Policy Wales (PPW)⁷. PPW highlights the important contribution that HIA can make to plan-making. It also states that information to assess potential impacts on health can be required through various mechanisms, including SA, and that where relevant, health impacts should be incorporated into these assessments. A shared and integrated approach to evidence gathering and assessments is noted by PPW to generally offer the most effective and collaborative ways of working. While HIA can be undertaken as a separate standalone assessment, the Development Plans Manual notes that HIA can be integrated into the SA from the start. It is also noted that, because the SEA Regulations require human health to be considered as part of the assessment of environmental effects, the health component of an SEA can be broadened to include both physical and mental health objectives of an HIA.

2.7 The Welsh Government's Practical Guide to HIA⁸ and the Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit (WHIASU) guidance on HIA⁹,¹⁰ set out the steps required to undertake an HIA, with screening being the first step. The guidance states that there is no fixed way of making a decision about whether to conduct HIA, but that the screening stage should set out a preliminary picture of the potential health impacts on the relevant population. This guidance also states that while HIAs can be carried out as part of a wider ISA process, the health and well-being and inequalities components of the assessment must be explicit.

2.8 In summary, screening should give consideration to the following:

• whether the proposal is likely to impact on health;
• which sections of the population, particularly vulnerable groups, are likely to be affected; and
• the potential scale of any positive or negative impacts.

2.9 As a strategic level plan, the LDP can affect public health through the policies and site allocations included within it. As well as policies specifically relating to health and wellbeing, the location of development sites in relation to healthcare facilities and the allocation of sites for open space and other green infrastructure can influence health-related effects.

2.10 Baseline information relating to public health on Anglesey is presented in Chapter 4 and shows that the health profile of Anglesey is broadly in line with the rest of Wales, although the number of people who consider themselves to be in bad or very bad health is slightly higher than the national average. The new LDP offers opportunities to improve public health by including relevant policies and allocating development in the most sustainable locations (which will have associated health benefits).

2.11 The effects of the LDP on health are expected to be largely limited to the plan area, i.e. Anglesey, and would mainly be long-term and permanent although any health- related effects from the construction process of new development (such as noise impacts) would be short term.

Equalities Impact Assessment

2.12 The legal requirement for Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA) is set out through the Equality Act 2010. The Welsh Public Sector Equality Duty (Section 149 of the Act) came into force in April 2011. It requires public bodies to assess the impact of policies on different population groups to ensure discrimination does not take place, and where possible, to promote equality of opportunity. Through the Equality Act, having due regard for advancing equality involves:

• removing or minimising disadvantages experienced by people due to their protected characteristics;
• taking steps to meet the needs of people from protected groups where these are different from the needs of other people; and
• encouraging people with protected characteristics to participate in public life or in other activities where their participation is disproportionately low.

2.13 A plan-making authority should screen the nine protected characteristic groups in the Equality Act 2010 (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation) to identify and justify which characteristics the plan can influence. Those characteristics which can be influenced should be integrated into the assessment framework; those that cannot be influenced should be screened out and justified.

2.14 In March 2021 Welsh Government adopted the Socio- economic Duty to complement the Equality Act, 2010 with the aim of further contributing towards Wales' long term well-being goals, in particular "a more equal Wales" and "a Wales of cohesive communities". The Duty places a legal responsibility on bodies when they are taking strategic decisions to have due regard to the need to reduce the inequalities of outcome resulting from socio-economic disadvantage¹¹. In effect, the duty results in an extension of EqIA to considering the potential effects relating to socio-economically affected groups.

2.15 It is possible that the LDP could impact upon any of the protected characteristics as well as socio-economic disadvantaged groups to some degree, as part of the overall effects of the plan on the local population, although some groups may be more directly affected (i.e. older people could be directly affected by the provision or not of appropriate housing to meet their particular needs). It can be challenging to identify how individual policies would affect some of the characteristics – effects may be more easily identified when considering the plan as a whole.

The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act (WBFGA) 2015

2.16 The WBFGA (2015) places a duty on public bodies to carry out sustainable development. It sets out seven well- being goals which all public bodies are required to achieve:

• A prosperous Wales
• A resilient Wales
• A healthier Wales
• A more equal Wales
• A Wales of cohesive communities
• A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language
• A globally responsible Wales

2.17 More information about what these goals mean is provided in the Welsh Government's guide to the Act¹². The WBFGA signifies the dedication of Wales' contribution towards all of the UN's Sustainable Development goals, including Goal 3¹³ which is to 'ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages'.

2.18 The WBFGA puts in place a 'sustainable development principle' which identifies how organisations should go about meeting their duty under the Act. In applying the sustainable development principle, public bodies need to demonstrate that they have considered the following five issues:

• Looking to the long term so that we do not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
• Understanding the root causes of issues to prevent them from occurring or getting worse.
• Taking an integrated approach so that public bodies look at all the well-being goals in deciding on their well-being objectives.
• Involving a diversity of the population in the decisions that affect them.
• Working with others in a collaborative way to find shared sustainable solutions.

2.19 The Development Plans Manual states that:

'The LDP must demonstrate how it contributes to achievingthe well-being goals. The approach taken to appraise the plan through the SA can enable LPAs to understand where theplan can maximise its contribution. The well-being goals should be integral to the preparation of the SA Scoping Report and usedto inform the reviewof evidence, identify issues and structure the SA framework which will assess the plan's growth options, objectives, policies and proposals'.

2.20 It also states that 'the well-being goals, objectives and the five ways of working should be integral to the development of the SA framework'.

2.21 The publication 'Creating Healthier Places and Spaces for our Present and Future Generations' has been developed by Public Health Wales¹⁴ in response to the Act. It sets out an approach which focuses on six priority areas¹⁵ of the built and natural environment that can positively impact upon health and well-being, and support delivery of the well-being goals. These priority areas are highly relevant to the LDP and the assessment of the policies and sites within the LDP will therefore also help to assess how well those priorities are being addressed.

2.22 Consideration has been given to whether the ISA framework should be structured in line with the well-being goals, i.e. whether the objectives could be grouped according to which goal they relate to. However, many of the well-being goals are cross-cutting and would be influenced by more than one of the ISA objectives; therefore presenting the ISA framework in this way would be too simplistic. Instead, the ISA framework in Chapter 6 shows how each ISA objective helps to address the seven well-being goals.

Welsh Language Impact Assessment

2.23 PPW sets the policy requirements for Welsh language and makes it clear that the Welsh language is "part of the social and cultural fabric"(of Wales) and that "the land use planning system should take account of the conditions which are essential to the Welsh language and contribute to its use and thriving Welsh language goal". 

2.24 The Development Plans Manual specifies that the Welsh language must be considered from the outset of the development plan process. The requirement for the SA to include "an assessment of the likely impacts of the plan on the use of the Welsh Language in the plan area" is set out through the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 as amended by the Planning (Wales) Act 2015 (section 11). The Act states that "the purpose of this is to ensure that the scale and location of change set out in the plan supports the Welsh language and ensure appropriate mitigation measures are in place, if required".

2.25 The overarching requirement to undertake SA is set out through section 62 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. The Welsh Language Commissioner's Guidance on Policy Making Standards¹⁶ requires that Welsh language be considered from the outset of policy making and notes that: "the Commissioner does not consider that the requirement under section 62 of Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act means that the requirement to comply with Welsh language standards is removed. As they arise from two separate statutory requirements, it is entirely appropriate to expect bodies to ensure that they go beyond the requirements of section 62 in order to considerthe wider effects on the Welsh language and to comply with the policy making standards under the Welsh Language Measure."

2.26 Technical Advice Note 20 (TAN 20): Planning and the Welsh Language¹⁷ provides guidance on the consideration of Welsh language as part of the development plan and SA processes. In summary, local planning authorities must consider the likely effects of their development plan on Welsh language as part of the SA process and include a statement within the deposit plan on how this has been considered and/or addressed within the development plan.

Environment (Wales) Act

2.27 The Environment (Wales) Act 2016 seeks to legislate for the planning and management of natural resources in Wales in a manner which is a proactive, sustainable and integrated. The Act also introduces guidance on the sustainable management of natural resources (SMNR).

2.28 Planning Policy Wales 11 (PPW11) specifies that LDPs must have regard to the Natural Resources Policy and Area Statements that follow on from it. PPW11 therefore translates the principles of SMNR for the planning system.

2.29 As required by Section 6 of the Act, public authorities have responsibility to "maintain and enhance biodiversity in the exercise of functions in  relation to Wales, and in so doing promote the resilience of ecosystems, so far as consistent with the proper exercise of those functions." There is a requirement for authorities to report on actions taken to promote ecosystem resilience as well as to improve biodiversity.

2.30 Section 7 of the Act requires that "Welsh Ministers must prepare and publish a list of the living organisms and types of habitat which in their opinion are of principal importance for the purpose of maintaining and enhancing biodiversity in relation to Wales".

2.31 Prior to publication, appropriate consultation regarding the list must be undertaken with Natural Resources Wales (NRW). The list must be kept under review and all reasonable steps should be taken to maintain and enhance the living organisms and types of habitats on the list without prejudice to Section 6.

2.32 PPW states that a proactive approach should be taken by all those engaged in the planning process to facilitate the delivery of biodiversity and resilience outcomes. To allow for the implementation of the Section 6 duties, PPW sets out a framework of considerations (DECCA), that should be addressed:

• Diversity – ensuring mechanisms are in place to minimise species loss given that more diverse ecosystems are more resilient to external influences;
• Extent – ensuring planning decisions support measures which seek the creation, restoration and appropriate management of green networks and linkages as well as other existing assets;
• Condition – ensuring planning decisions do not compromise the condition of ecosystems and support the long term management of retained habitats;
• Connectivity – ensuring opportunities for the creation of functional habitat and ecological networks;
• Adaptability to change – primarily ensuring that action is taken to protect the extent, condition and connectivity of habitats, features and ecological networks from climate change. The actions can also help to facilitate social and economic resilience aspirations of the WBFGA.

2.33 The Act (section 8) also states that NRW must prepare a report containing its assessment of the state of natural resources in relation to Wales (SoNaRR). The requirement for NRW to prepare and maintain Area Statements for the purpose of facilitating the implementation of the national natural resources policy is set out through section 11 of the Act. Anglesey falls within the North West Wales Area Statement alongside Conwy and Gwynedd.

2.34 The Development Plans Manual recommends that the requirements of the Act (Section 6) can be met through the ISA. The ISA provides a means to consider how the various elements of the PPW framework of considerations could be addressed by the LDP.