Chamber and committees

The content of any legal advice is confidential. By long-standing convention, successive Scottish and Westminster Governments have not disclosed the source or content of legal advice other than in the most exceptional circumstances.

The Scottish Government’s position has been established for several years and reflected in submissions to the Scottish Parliament’s Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee. The sheep on St Kilda are regarded as an unowned and unmanaged population of wild animals. They are protected under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 when brought under human control, and at other times by the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996.

PE2021 EnsureAnimal Health and Welfare Scotland Act 2006 applies to the sheep on St Kilda | Scottish Parliament Website

The Scottish Animal Welfare Commission have confirmed, at the request of the Chief Veterinary Officer for Scotland, that it will establish a working group to consider the moral and ethical issues for landowners in managing feral animals in Scotland, including the St Kilda sheep, and to develop an opinion on their welfare.

The National Trust for Scotland is undertaking a full review of the situation on St Kilda and as the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands confirmed in Parliament on 08 January 2026, the Scottish Government willingness to engage and work closely with the Trust on this matter.

The campaign spend for social media adverts was £61,084 on Meta only.

The spend on advertising slots on linear TV, broken down by broadcaster is as follows -

STV £156,027

ITV Breakfast Scot £8,260

C4 Scotland £13,992

The total production cost was £149,459.88, correct at time of writing.

This cost includes rates for services procured by the Creative Services agency, and approved by the Scottish Government. These rates for distinct services and elements of production cannot be disclosed by the Scottish Government as they represent commercially-sensitive information. Marketing Spend for the Scottish Government is reconciled at the end of each financial year and published annually here: Marketing spend - gov.scot.

None.

The First Minister and I had ministerial oversight for the campaign.

None.

Executive Pay in Scottish Water is a decision for its Board. In their decision making they take into consideration public sector pay policy, including Scottish Government’s pay policy for Chief Executives. Executive pay rates are published within Scottish Water's annual accounts which are publicly available.

The reallocation of ministerial responsibility for determining energy consents occurred as follows:

On 17 December 2025 I wrote to the First Minister, stating that I would be able to more effectively engage with communities on onshore energy policy if the ministerial responsibility for determining consents was transferred to the Minister for Public Finance.

On 18 December 2025 the First Minister replied in agreement and confirmed the transfer of ministerial responsibility.

On 19 December 2025 I wrote to the Convener of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee to inform the Committee of the transfer of ministerial responsibility.

As at 1 June 2025, and based on the Billing System Snapshot, an annual property-level data return provided to the Scottish Government by councils, it does not appear that any Small Business Bonus Scheme relief was awarded to any shootings or deer forests held by Forestry Land Scotland, National Trust Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, NatureScot, Crown Estate Scotland, local authorities or other public agencies. We do not therefore anticipate any material impact on these bodies from removing eligibility for Small Business Bonus Scheme relief for shootings and deer forests (subject to prescribed exceptions).