Chamber and committees

Scottish Government submission dated 21 February 2022

PE1812/X - Protect Scotland's remaining ancient, native and semi-native woodlands and woodland floors

Thank you for your letter of 10 September 2021 seeking further information from the Scottish Government in relation to the above petition. I have been asked to respond, based on the topics covered. Please pass my apologies to the Committee for the delay in responding, as due to a clerical error your letter was only recently brought to my attention.

Update on response to the independent Deer Working Group

Scottish Forestry, an agency of Scottish Government, are working closely with other key partners, including NatureScot who have statutory responsibility for deer management in Scotland, to progress the Scottish Government response to the Deer Working Group recommendations which will ensure there are robust systems of deer management in place within the forestry sector. We have established a project under the Scottish Biodiversity Programme to encompass the legislative and non-legislative components of these recommendations. This will ensure an appropriate level of governance, but will also bring deer management into consideration alongside biodiversity as the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy (SBS) progresses.

The project includes four key work streams:

• Legislative – progressed through a new Bill to create the enabling conditions for more effective deer management;
• Incentives – to secure a suitable payment and penalty regime including forest management, agricultural conditionality and moorland management;
• Regulation – focusing on how and where to target regulatory efforts, prioritising key landscapes and areas;
• Operational delivery – ensuring a cohesive approach on the ground between key delivery partners.

A project board to steer the project has been established, chaired by Scottish Government and comprising senior officials from our Environment and Forestry Directorate, Forestry and Land Scotland, Scottish Forestry, NatureScot, and both the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authorities. NatureScot have taken on secretariat responsibilities. The project board reports to the SBS Programme Board.

The project board meet quarterly and are due to meet next in early March 2022 to discuss taking forward the priority recommendations to ensure there are robust systems of deer management in place in Scotland.

Development of new biodiversity strategy

We have committed to publish a new biodiversity strategy by October 2022, which will define high level outcomes and priority actions that are required in Scotland to address the ongoing decline in biodiversity. This will be supported by a delivery plan published within six months of the new strategy.

We are engaged in a programme of engagement with stakeholders as we develop our strategic vision and outcomes. This engagement got under way in December and will run until April. It has involved both focused, topic-based discussions in small groups and wider group discussions with our Programme Board Stakeholder Engagement Group. This process will lead to a wider public engagement, with a view to publishing a consultation document in May 2022.

Use of the National Planning Framework to protect ancient, native and semi-native woodlands and woodland floors

Our draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) sets out how our approach to planning and development will help to achieve a net zero, sustainable Scotland by 2045. This includes draft planning policy on Trees, Woodland and Forestry, which states that development proposals should not be supported where they would result in:

• any loss of ancient woodlands, ancient and veteran trees, or adverse impact on their ecological condition; or
• adverse impacts on native woodlands, hedgerows and individual trees of high biodiversity value or identified for protection in the Forestry and Woodland Strategy.

Views are currently being invited on the draft NPF4 alongside parliamentary scrutiny, following which we anticipate producing a final version for approval and adoption around summer 2022.

The draft NPF4 is available to view on the Scottish Government website at: Scotland 2045 - fourth National Planning Framework: draft - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Information on any legislation we intend to bring forward relevant to the issues raised by the petition

Further to comments included above, we have committed to introducing a new Natural Environment Bill in 2023-24, which will include targets for nature recovery. Formal scoping of the content of that Bill has not yet commenced.

I hope this response has been helpful.