Seòmar agus comataidhean

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), is the executive agency which manages Scotland’s national forests and land. The majority of deer management on land owned by the Scottish Government on behalf of the nation is undertaken by FLS. Alongside land owned by the Scottish Government, public bodies also manage deer on public land they are responsible for. This includes NatureScot and Scottish Water. Further detail on the deer management activities of these organisations is as follows.

Forestry and Land Scotland

FLS collects data, on a daily basis, for each deer culled on SNFL by its Wildlife Rangers and contractors, and on a monthly basis for recreational stalkers.

The data collected includes; species, sex, whether adult, yearling or juvenile, lactating females or whether a foetus is present, the presence of disease, the date, time, location (6-figure grid reference) and forest structure in which the deer was shot, whether it was shot by an FLS ranger, contractor or recreational stalker, shot placement, the larder in which the carcass was processed/chilled and length of time in the larder, carcass weight, whether shot under out of season or night shooting authorisation, and the end-use of the carcass (ie private sale, sold to venison dealer or is for domestic use by recreational stalker).

NatureScot

In addition to the annual cull data that NatureScot collects they also make regular and frequent assessments of deer populations on the NNRs it manages. This is done on a priority basis with the larger NNRs where deer management is a priority They use a range of techniques including; helicopter, drone and foot counts as well as dung counting. They also undertake Herbivore Impact Assessments to better understanding the impacts of the deer on the vegetation and habitats.

Scottish Water

Scottish Water does not monitor or keep records of deer numbers on their operational property, the data they do collect relates only to their rural catchment estate in East Grampian and is provided in the answers to S6W-34627 and
S6W-34630 on 26 February 2025.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

We closely monitor the impacts of our policy decisions on taxpayers, businesses, and the economy using a range of evidence such as real time economic data, formal evaluations and engagement with stakeholders, including the business community.

We have also funded HMRC to produce two separate pieces of analysis, a longitudinal dataset and a behavioural study, measuring the impact of our Income Tax policies on behaviour change, both published April 2024.

Since the introduction of Scottish Income Tax more taxpayers have come to Scotland than have left with net inflows averaging almost 4,200 per year. In 2021-22, the latest year of data, net migration of taxpayers was positive across all tax bands and almost all age groups.

In line with commitments in the Tax Strategy, we will publish further research on the impacts of Scottish Income Tax policy on businesses and competitiveness in Scotland in 2025. We will also evaluate the impact of changes to Income Tax in 2023-24 and 2024-25 once outturn date is available.

The Scottish Government has taken a progressive approach to the overall arrangements for Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, prioritising support for first-time buyers and home movers while raising vital revenue to support public services.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission has forecast that increasing the rate of the Additional Dwelling Supplement will raise an additional £32m in 2025-26. The Scottish Fiscal Commission assume that half of those Additional Dwelling Supplement transactions which do not proceed will be replaced by first-time buyer and home mover transactions in 2025-26 and that this will increase to three-quarters from 2026-27 onwards.

The priorities set out in the Tax Strategy will enable us to deliver tax policy which considers the whole tax system, informed by a programme of evidence, evaluation and engagement.

The Scottish Government is committed to modernising deer management to tackle high deer numbers, specifically in order to help us to achieve our biodiversity and carbon objectives. We continue to pursue a range of actions to deliver this commitment.

The Scottish Government’s future legislative programme has been set out as part of the 2024-25 Programme for Government. The Natural Environment Bill was introduced to parliament on 20 February 2025 and will bring forward significant reforms to the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996.

In addition to this we are working on the Deer Working Group recommendations that do not require primary legislation through the Strategic Deer Board.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), is the executive agency which manages Scotland’s national forests and land. The majority of deer management on land owned by the Scottish Government on behalf of the nation is undertaken by FLS. Alongside land owned by the Scottish Government, public bodies also manage deer on public land they are responsible for. A number of these bodies are represented on the Strategic Deer Board.

Wind turbine developments on Scottish Government owned land follow the standard processes detailed in Scotland’s planning regulations.

All deer culled on Scottish Government land are culled by shooting, which is undertaken by appropriately trained staff to ensure the highest standards of public safety and deer welfare and who adhere to the code of practice set by the Wild Deer Best Practice group.

There are two wind turbines located on land owned by Scottish Government. Both are located on the Isle of Barra. The total capacity is 930KW.

Scottish Government are committed to providing an additional £250 million over the current parliamentary term to reduce drug deaths and improve the lives of people who use drugs and alcohol.

The increase in funding of £2.5 million to the alcohol and drugs budget announced in the budget revision will allow us to go further and build on our National Mission on Drugs. £1 million of this will specifically support work by Aberlour to support women in the peri-natal period. This additional funding will allow more women and infants to receive the support they need during this crucial period. £1.5 million is for broader alcohol and drug services and will allow us to support even more people to achieve their own recovery. Details of how the additional 2025-26 funding will be invested will be communicated in due course.

The Scottish Government will continue to pursue effective deer management that will help secure our climate and nature objectives, on land owned by the Scottish Government and other land. This includes changes that are being made to deer legislation through the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill, implementing recommendations of the Deer Working Group, and progressing deer management priorities set by the Strategic Deer Board.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government respects the independence of Local Government and has no formal role in pay negotiations for non-teaching staff; these negotiations are undertaken through the Scottish Joint Council (SJC) which is a bilateral body formed of COSLA and recognised trade unions. The Scottish Government is a constituent member of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) which is a tripartite body alongside COSLA and recognised trade unions representing teachers.

The Scottish Government Public Sector Pay Policy for 2025-26 was published in December 2024 and sets out decisions taken by Scottish Ministers regarding pay for most public sector staff in Scotland. This policy is clear that, for Local Government employees, pay and other employment matters are delegated to local authorities. As such, the policy does not apply directly to Local Government and local authorities have flexibility to manage their own budgets and workforce accordingly. Like all employers, Local Government decisions on pay likely consider a range of factors including other public sector pay offers in Scotland and across the UK.

Scottish Ministers have been consistent in their recognition of the valuable contribution that Local Government workers make to delivering essential public services across the country and have worked constructively with Local Government to support a fair and sustainable pay position, including through providing additional funding where necessary. For example, the Scottish Government provided an additional £77.5 million for Local Government pay in 2024-25 and this has been baselined into the 2025-26 Local Government settlement. Similarly, the Scottish Government provided an additional £29 million to Local Government in 2024-25 to support the pay deal for teachers, with the full year cost of £43 million baselined.

Further, the Scottish Government supports local authorities to manage wider pay-related issues relating to delivery of shared priorities across both national and local spheres of government. For example, the draft 2025-26 Scottish Budget includes an additional £9.7 million for local authorities to deliver the Programme for Government commitment to increase the pay of Early Learning and Childcare workers in the private and third sectors delivering funded hours. Building on recurring investment of £16 million in 2024-25, this will ensure that staff delivering funded early learning and childcare are paid at least the Real Living Wage and demonstrates our commitment to the Fair Work agenda.