Chamber and committees

With regard to question a), the industry estimate that around 80% of venison sold is sourced from the annual deer cull.

With regard to b), the industry estimate that around 15-20,000 carcases are imported from New Zealand. This can be difficult to quantify because parts of carcasses are purchased rather than the whole.

With regard to c), we do not have figures on what proportion of venison sold comes from sources other than the annual deer cull or imports. However, there are around 15,000 farmed deer in Scotland (2023 figures).

Applying the fit and proper person test in the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025 to all four of SEPA’s regulatory regimes will assist in keeping criminals and illegal operators out of the waste management industry.

The Bill will place legal responsibilities on owners of large landholdings to set out how they use their land and how that contributes to key public policy priorities, like addressing climate change and protecting and restoring nature.

Also, in addition to my answer to S6W-32938 on 17 January 2025 about the new land management tenancy, tenant farmers and small landholders will have more equality of opportunity to deliver net zero improvements to the land they farm and cultivate. This will enable them to become more sustainable and productive in their farming and be rewarded for their investment of time and resources.

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

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to introduce a centralised fee for multi-agency involvement in environmental authorisations. SEPA is Scotland’s environmental regulator, responsible for granting environmental authorisations, and regularly consults and updates the Environmental Regulations (Scotland) Charging Scheme 2018 for fees and charges.

We are currently considering all the issues raised in response to our recent consultation on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill. We will publish the commissioned independent analysis of these responses as soon as practicable.

SEPA has been preparing for implementation of the new regulatory framework for several years, investing in new systems, people, processes and support mechanisms to ensure a smooth transition in November 2025.

Implementing the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025 and bringing the integrated authorisation framework into effect is identified as a key priority in its 2024-27 Corporate Plan.

A dedicated project implementation team has been working since 2023 to support the work that needs to be done before the draft Regulations come into force. This team comprised of technical, IT and legal expertise apply robust project management principles towards developing risk mitigations and contingencies that might arise.

The draft Budget 2025-26 includes £5m of funding for Coastal Change to be included in the General Capital Grant provided to local authorities.

It is Scottish Government’s policy to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. The vast majority of funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

The 2024-25 Budget increased funding for SEPA by 7.3% recognising the pivotal role it plays to protect and maintain a safe, healthy and sustainable environment for the people of Scotland. The draft budget for 2025-26 includes a budget increase for SEPA of 5% compared to 2024-25 budget bill allocations.

Implementing the integrated authorisation framework is identified as a high priority in SEPA’s 2024-27 Corporate Plan. Thereafter in each year, SEPA’s annual operating plan sets out how it will deliver these priorities, alongside meeting its statutory obligations, and what resources will be allocated.

SEPA has been preparing for implementation of the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025 for several years, investing in new systems, people, processes and support mechanisms to ensure a smooth transition to the integrated authorisation framework.

Since 2021, SEPA has developed and launched on-line services for waste carrier registrations, existing private sewage treatment systems, simple waste exemptions, and radioactive substance notification. In July 2024, SEPA launched a new digital service for those who want to apply for an authorisation for a new small-scale sewage treatment system.

When the draft Regulations come into force, SEPA will have a system that will allow all new applications to be received, paid for and issued digitally. To ensure that this system will be ready, SEPA has been developing and testing prototypes of the systems and webpages that easily direct customers and stakeholders to the information they need and takes them through the application process.

The Land Reform Bill will support community ownership through advance notice of certain sales from large landholdings. Communities may then be able to purchase this land, including through existing community rights to buy powers, where a community body may not have expected that the land would be sold.

On sustainable land use practices, Part 2 of the Bill provides for a new land management tenancy to enable people and communities to undertake a range of land management activities; helping to deliver net zero, biodiversity and sustainable and regenerative agricultural ambitions.