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Prior to the announcement that the Fairer Workplaces Fund was closing on 21 August 2024 a total of three applications had been received.

In 2023, Scottish Forestry published refreshed guidance on Forestry Engagement and Consultation Processes, which reflects the principles of the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement and provides greater clarity on expectations, requirements and roles and responsibilities around community engagement and consultation on forestry plans and proposals.

The criteria for assessing all woodland creation schemes are set under stage 3 of this guidance and includes taking into account whether the proposal has considered all the issues raised in the consultation and made changes where appropriate.

There is no ban on woodland planting in close proximity to communities however in such cases any planting proposal would be expected to demonstrate that community feedback had been taken into account and that significant efforts made to address concerns. Communities can raise objections and where there do so there is a requirement for these to be considered and addressed.

Many rural communities exist in close proximity to forest land and forests normally deliver a range of opportunities and benefits for local people.

Scottish Government is striving to ensure that more people and communities have the opportunity to engage with our expanding forests and woodland, and that more people and communities benefit from forestry.

We want to ensure that the woodland expansion needed to tackle the twin climate and biodiversity crises takes place in a just and sustainable way, with positive impacts for everybody, including future generations to come.

The Scottish Government launched a call for applications for the What you can apply for - Pathways Fund: form and guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) between 19th July 2024 and 30th August 2024.

We welcomed bids from organisations registered in the UK, who are providing support to pre-start entrepreneurs and/or early stage businesses in Scotland.

We are currently processing the applications received and successful applicants will be announced in due course.

At the end of August 2024 Scottish Water had installed over 900 new CSO monitors, and is on track to deliver on its commitment.

The loss of agricultural land, including the cumulative loss with other recent forestry projects, is considered as part of the formal assessment of significant woodland creation applications.

An agricultural assessment is also normally carried out as part of any woodland creation application. These assessments are prepared by independent agricultural specialists and incorporate feedback with the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division.

Indicative analysis of schemes under development indicates that over 95% of planting is being proposed on LCA classes 5 and 6.

Neither Scottish Government or Scottish Forestry have had recent discussions with Scottish Woodlands regarding community opposition to the Warblaw planting scheme.

The project developer has recently been seeking feedback on their draft planting proposals and planting scheme may change in response to community views.

The Warblaw proposal is currently going through the due diligence (development) stage of the woodland creation application process. This stage is led by the landowner’s forestry agent, Scottish Woodlands. Public consultation events, focussed on this project, were held in April 2023 and August 2024.

Scottish Forestry officials attended these public consultation events, have been copied into community feedback provided to Scottish Woodlands and are aware of the concerns about the project.

Scottish Forestry hasn’t received a formal planting application. When a formal planting application is submitted Scottish Forestry will assess the proposal including carefully considering how community concerns have been addressed, and there will be a further public consultation exercise to inform this assessment.

With respect to prospective legislative change that will affect the private rented sector, the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Housing (Scotland) Bill will be published shortly and this considers the cumulative impact of policy on the private rented sector.

It is important that landlords and tenants are supported to understand their rights and responsibilities. Support for landlords and tenants, including the potential for training opportunities, will form part of our planning for the implementation of the new legislative requirements in the Housing (Scotland) Bill, if passed.

We consulted in 2022 on A New Deal for Tenants – draft rented sector strategy. This set out the Scottish Government commitment to deliver a successful and high quality, affordable and fair rented sector and invited views on how we can deliver this for the rented sector as a whole.

Measures being progressed in the Housing (Scotland) Bill deliver on a number of commitments from the New deal for Tenants and have been informed by consultation and targeted engagement with stakeholders. The changes build on previous reforms to strengthen tenants’ rights through tenancy reform in 2016 providing private tenants with increased stability and security.

The Scottish Government is developing the third phase of the Ecosystem Fund, building on the success of previous rounds. This follows a comprehensive evaluation of the 2023-24 phase conducted by Scottish Enterprise. Further information about the next phase will be released in due course.