Current status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what the position is of NatureScot regarding the policy intention to establish deer management nature restoration orders under the proposed Natural Environment Bill, and whether it will publish all of the correspondence and advice, including the minutes of any meetings, that it has received from NatureScot regarding these orders.
As set out in the 2024-25 Programme for Government, the Natural Environment Bill will include provisions to modernise the way in which deer are managed in Scotland.
In January the Scottish Government consulted on a range of potential reforms to deer management, including the introduction of new powers designed to secure effective deer management that supports Scottish Government nature and climate objectives (Deer Management Nature Restoration Orders). The 'Managing Deer for Climate and Nature: consultation' closed on 29 March 2024. We received around 1600 responses and the full analysis report of the responses was published on 9 September 2024.
The Scottish Government is currently giving careful consideration to all of the consultation responses, which will inform the development of the provisions to be included in the future Natural Environment Bill.
We have no plans to publish all correspondence and advice on the development of planned legislation. The minutes of the Strategic Deer Board relevant to the legislation are published on the Scottish Government website.