Official Report 583KB pdf
Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026(SSI 2026/240)
09:16
Item 2 is consideration of a negative Scottish statutory instrument. The regulations are laid under the negative procedure, which means that they will come into force unless the Parliament agrees a motion to annul the instrument. No motion has been lodged.
The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee has made no comment on the instrument. Do members of this committee have any comments?
As most members will be aware, the Government has announced that a review is to be commissioned into considering land management practices that might be used to prevent or hinder the spread of wildfires. Although I appreciate that the SSI that is before us probably does not provide the right mechanism for imposing a pause or halt to the introduction of the licensing scheme—which has, indeed, been paused already—I think that we need to send a message to the Government that there is still concern among land managers that the current licensing scheme is not fit for purpose. At a time when crofters and farmers are expected to play a bigger role in preventing wildfires, it would be appropriate for the Government to consider pausing the licensing scheme. I appreciate that the regulations do not provide the mechanism to do that, but this is an opportunity to call on the Government to rethink it.
I thank Finlay Carson for his thoughts on the matter—he has now had the opportunity to put them in the Official Report. I note that this SSI is very narrow and is effectively to update leaflets, ready for the introduction of the licensing regime, which has already been approved by Parliament. We are somewhat constrained in our work here.
With that, I invite the committee to agree that it does not wish to make any recommendations in relation to the instrument. Are we agreed on that?
Members indicated agreement.
I will briefly suspend the meeting to allow witnesses to come into the room for our third agenda item.
09:18
Meeting suspended.
09:21
On resuming—
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