Question reference: S6W-18571
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 2 June 2023
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Current status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 June 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17413 by Mairi Gougeon on 9 May 2023, what the level of underspend referred to was in (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23; how many hectares of peatland were restored with grant support in each of those years; what the average cost per hectare to restore peatland is estimated to be, in the light of experience from the peatland restoration scheme, and what any factors identified as preventing targets from being achieved are.
Answer
As per our delivery partners’ published accounts ( Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park - Annual Report & Accounts , Cairngorms National Park Authority Annual Reports and Accounts , Forestry and Land Scotland Annual reports and accounts , NatureScot Annual Reports and Accounts , Scottish Water Annual Reports ), the level of underspend for the years 2020-21, 2021-22 was around £12 million and £7.4 million respectively. Final capital and resource spend figures for 2022-23 have still to be confirmed and will be available in due course.
Figures for restoration in 2020-21 and 2021-22 can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202200314966/ . For 2022-23 our current estimate is 7,468 ha, however we are awaiting final validation of these figures
Based on provisional financial outturn figures, in 2022-23 the average cost of restoration was around £2,326 per ha. However, as an average, this number tells us very little. There is significant variation in the actual cost to restore peatland depending on site specific factors like the size and location of the site, level of degradation and required work to remedy, and accessibility.
The factors preventing targets from being achieved are physical limitations imposed by weather, access and ecological constraints and gaps in contractor availability and skill shortages. We have identified these in light of our experience of delivering restoration schemes and are putting in place mitigating actions to help resolve these constraints.