Chamber and committees

In October 2023, communities were invited to explore and develop proposals for their local area to be considered for designation as Scotland’s next National Park. The nomination phase closed on 29 February and nominations were received from Galloway, Lochaber, Scottish Borders, Tay Forest and Loch Awe.

The appraisal process considered all nominations against six published criteria. Introduction - New National Parks: nominations guidance and appraisal framework - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . These were:

? outstanding national importance

? size, character and coherence

? meeting the special needs of the area

? strategic contribution

? visitor management and tourism

? local support

The appraisal process concluded in May and the appraisal panel’s report has been published on our website: National Parks - Landscape and outdoor access - gov.scot ( www.gov.scot )

Following the conclusion of the appraisal process, I am pleased to inform Parliament ahead of a public announcement that will take place later today that we are proposing to move to the next stage in the process to establish a new National Park in Galloway.

The nomination from the Galloway National Park Association and the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO biosphere highlights the area’s outstanding natural and cultural heritage and it sets out the potential benefits that designation could make to the environment, the economy and to local communities. The proposal also provides evidence of support for a new National Park from local communities, stakeholders and businesses. The report of the new National Parks appraisal panel concluded that the nomination from Galloway meets all of the published criteria.

The proposal for a new National Park in Galloway has been laid in Parliament this morning and it will be published on the Scottish Government website.

On behalf of the Scottish Government, I would like to offer our thanks for the considerable time, effort and commitment that all the nominating groups and members of these local communities have invested in exploring and developing their nominations.

The next stage in the process will begin with a ‘Reporter Phase’ in which communities will be asked if they want a National Park in the Galloway area. A ‘Reporter’ – in this case NatureScot – will now lead further work on the Galloway proposal, including extensive consultation and engagement with local residents, communities, community councils, local authorities, businesses, relevant public bodies and interest groups. This will include engagement and consultation with the agriculture, forestry and other land-based sectors given their importance within the area. The Reporter’s work will investigate, develop and test the National Park proposal in light of local views and circumstances, taking into account all views expressed during the consultation.

The Reporter is required to provide its findings to the Scottish Government on the proposal by 28 April 2025 and the report will be laid in Parliament. If we decide to proceed with the National Park proposal – with or without modification - secondary legislation will need to be developed, consulted on and approved by Parliament in order to designate a new National Park in Galloway.

The Scottish Government and partners continue to take a variety of steps to promote healthier food and diet, including an increase in plant-based meals. The 2021 Out of Home Action Plan (OOHAP) and the 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan underpin this approach.

Public Health Scotland’s pilot of the Eating Out Eating Well Framework (announced in the OOHAP) is supporting people and business to facilitate access to healthier and sustainable options including, for instance, suggesting businesses may want to display and promote vegan and vegetarian meal options, or switching high-fat dairy products to plant based ones.

The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020 have strengthened the provision of balanced and nutritious food to children, including setting standards for the maximum amount of red and processed meat that can be provided to primary and secondary school children each week, in addition to setting standards on the provision of fruit and vegetables.

The Healthy Living Programme, delivered in partnership with the Scottish Grocer’s Federation is supporting over 2,400 convenience stores to provide affordable healthier food options, especially in lower income areas, including promotion of fruit and vegetables as recommended by the Eatwell Guide.

Our Parent Club website provides free advice on healthy eating, as well as recipe ideas to support individuals and families prepare healthy meals including how to increase their consumption of fruit and vegetables, featuring a range of vegetarian options. In 2023-24, the recipe page had 326,979 visits.

Upon the request of the Scottish Government, research was conducted between March 2023 and March 2024 to model the impact of a reduction in meat and dairy intakes on the nation’s micronutrient intake. This work was led by Food Standards Scotland (FSS), in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, in response to the Climate Change Committee (CCC)’s recommendation in the publication, Progress in reducing emissions in Scotland, 2022 Report to Parliament . It revealed that Scotland could make significant progress towards the CCC targets for reduction in meat consumption by following existing dietary advice shown in the Eatwell Guide. The Scottish Government and FSS are seeking to carry out additional research dedicated to assessing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with dietary intakes as part a review of the Scottish Dietary Goals (SDG) in 2024-25. Additionally, the Scottish Government is engaging the CCC to explore the evidence base which has informed the Committee’s recommendation in the publication, Progress in reducing emissions in Scotland, 2023 Report to Parliament .

The Scottish Government intends to update the School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967.

Given the time elapsed between the previous consultation exercise that took place in 2017-18, we must now consider the updated context that the regulations will exist in. We are now taking this work forward.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a just transition to net zero for all communities in Scotland, working with those most impacted to provide a fairer, greener future for all. Our approach is therefore being informed by communities, businesses, workers and their trade unions across Scotland.

Where new development proposals come forward, Policy 33 of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) sets out that development proposals for the sustainable extraction of minerals will only be supported by that policy where relevant criteria are met. This includes where it is demonstrated that there are no significant adverse impacts on nearby homes and local communities, provision of an adequate buffer zone between sites and settlements, and the inclusion of schemes for a high standard of restoration and aftercare.

Where any mineral extraction takes place, relevant environmental permitting and licensing requirements will apply ensuring continuing environmental protection.

NatureScot considers bat surveys submitted as part of a licence application against the Good Practice Guidelines developed by the Bat Conservation Trust. NatureScot also contributed to the creation of these guidelines. The guidelines ensure that bat roost sites are appropriately surveyed to inform species licensing decisions and allow NatureScot to assess what is the appropriate level of mitigation and compensation to protect bat species.

All bat species found in Scotland are classed as European protected species. They receive the highest level of species protection under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994.

This protection also extends to bat roosts. As bats return to the same places every year, a bat roost is protected even if no bats are present. Any action taken which might disturb or damage a bat roost requires a licence from NatureScot.

NatureScot bat workers and Licensing staff advise residents on bat species protection and how to manage the bat roosts within their homes in line with this protection through the Bats in Houses helpline or, for more complex cases, a home visit. NatureScot staff encourage residents in the first instance to retain these roosts, though in some circumstances they need to be excluded under licence because of the public health issue they can pose to residents. The licence to exclude bats contains conditions for the actions to safeguard the bats during the exclusion.

NatureScot holds data on the type of roosts recorded by bat workers during visits to homes, including the number of bats present, and whether the roost was retained or excluded under licence.

In 2023, in Bats in Houses, a total of 74 bat roosts were excluded from properties across Scotland, following householder requests to do so due to Health & Safety requirements:

On 17 January, the Scottish Government published a carbon assessment of the Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland 2021-22 to 2025-26, drawing on a range of evidence, including results from a taxonomy assessment. Through this assessment, there is clear and consistent evidence that supports the assessment that the Infrastructure Investment Plan contributes positively to the achievement of Scotland’s emissions reduction targets. This assessment can be found here: Infrastructure investment plan 2021-2022 to 2025-2026: carbon assessment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The publication of the Infrastructure Investment Plan Annual Report and Pipeline Reset has had to be postponed due to the timing of the UK General Election. Scottish Ministers will now consider a revised publication date, and will inform Parliament in due course. The outcomes of the carbon assessment published in January 2024 will be reviewed in conjunction with these publications.

The Scottish Government, through its Peatland ACTION partnership, restored 7,468 hectares in 2022-23 financial year. However, since then, in the full completed delivery year of 2023-24, a total of 10,360 hectares have been restored.