The Act Commentary on sections Duty to consult Section 63: Guidance as to consultation
172.This section imposes a duty on Scottish Ministers to issue guidelines to the Commission and Council on how they should fulfil the consultation requirements of the Act. This could include examples of the kind of bodies that it is expected should be consulted in particular circumstances. The guidelines would have statutory force -ie they would be regarded much more seriously by the courts than guidelines issued without a specific statutory provision.