Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government when there will be a stakeholder consultation on NatureScot's reported work to develop a list of irreplaceable habitats, and whether any types of species-rich grassland will be included in any such list.
As committed to in our Biodiversity Delivery Plan, we are revising the Scottish Biodiversity List of species and habitats. A process involving stakeholders is already underway to produce a revised list by the end of 2025. This summer, NatureScot and Scottish Government officials will be working with a range of stakeholders to prioritise habitats and species which are of principle importance for the conservation of biodiversity in Scotland and provide advice to Ministers. Workshops to consider these lists are planned for August and early September. The importance that species-rich grasslands have for biodiversity both as habitats, and for supporting species dependent on them, will form part of this exercise.