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As set out in the 2024-25 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government has committed to introduce the Natural Environment Bill as part of the year four legislative programme. Due to parliamentary procedure, we are unable to provide the precise date for introduction. The Scottish Parliament will announce the introduction date shortly before the introductory process begins.

When introduced, the Bill will establish the framework for statutory targets to restore and protect nature. It will also include provisions to modernise the way in which national parks and deer are managed and provide powers to update environmental impact assessment and habitats legislation to support delivery of our net zero and biodiversity goals.

As I set out in response to questions S6W-30360 on 9 October 2024 and S6W-30743 on 11 November 2024 we are providing a range of support and funding to work that aims to promote red squirrel populations.

A total grant of £1,052,796 has been awarded to the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) partnership project by the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, from April 2024 to March 2026.

A breakdown of how this £1m funding is being distributed across projects and localities is not held centrally.

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

Red squirrel populations fluctuate throughout the year and between seasons and it is not possible carry out direct counts across wide areas.

The most recent review of the population of British mammals, published in 2018, estimated the Scottish population of red squirrels at between 181,000 and 444,000 individuals.

This estimate is based on habitat use by study populations of red squirrels and modelling of carrying capacity of available habitats in Scotland. The modelling does not support estimates of regional populations.

As set out in the 2024-25 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government has committed to introduce the Natural Environment Bill as part of the year four legislative programme. Due to parliamentary procedure, we are unable to provide the precise date for introduction. The Scottish Parliament will announce the introduction date shortly before the introductory process begins.

When introduced, the Bill will establish the framework for statutory targets to restore and protect nature. It will also include provisions to modernise the way in which national parks and deer are managed and provide powers to update environmental impact assessment and habitats legislation to support delivery of our net zero and biodiversity goals.

The following data was aggregated to create a broad national picture of the scale of land across Scotland with consent which has not yet been built out. It is not intended for comparison at authority level. The national figure provided contextual information for the development and publication of our Planning and the Housing Emergency Delivery Plan.

We will shortly publish new guidance on Housing Land Audits, to help build a clearer picture of the availability of housing land across Scotland.

The source data is the published schedules of the most recently available Housing Land Audit for each local authority (in most cases this is the 2023 audit), where those schedules included site level data on both planning/construction status and remaining site capacity.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The methodology involved analysing the most recently published Housing Land Audit schedules from local authorities across Scotland. The remaining capacity for each site noted as either consented or under construction was totalled. Where the distinction was made, this included Planning Permission in Principle.

This summary statistic gives a broad estimate of the remaining capacity across Scotland of identified housing land with planning consent. It provided contextual information for the development and publication of our Planning and the Housing Emergency Delivery Plan.

The data is calculated from the published schedules of the most recently available Housing Land Audit for each local authority (in most cases this is the 2023 audit). This is public information, available on local authority websites.

We are carrying out further analysis of the dataset to inform current work with stakeholders on stalled sites and will provide updates on the work as it progresses.

Specific consultation was not undertaken in creating this summary statistic. The estimate is based on information published by local authorities as part of their annual Housing Land Audits, and any local consultation processes carried out as they are prepared.