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What the Bill does
Section 4 replaces sections 26C and 26D of the 1993 Act with four new sections (26C, 26D, 26DA and 26DB) which aim to streamline the process and give the Commission clearer powers to manage how breaches are handled.
1.
If those conditions are satisfied, the Commission is required to grant consent and must notify the applicant and relevant others of the decision within 21 days (new subsection 8(2A) of the 1993 Act).
Committee reports
Date published:
30 September 2025
Part 1 - Targets for improving Biodiversity
Part 1 of the Bill would amend the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 (the 2004 Act) by inserting provisions relating to targets for improving biodiversity and, specifically, would place a new duty on Scottish Ministers to create statutory targets for improving biodiversity through secondary legislation.
Committee reports
Date published:
30 September 2025
Deer management costs were, by a significant margin, the most contentious aspect discussed by the respondents. The Bill sets new powers for NatureScot. These include:
The power to set up a control scheme which will compel landowners to undertake deer management.
Key aspects of the Bill:
The Member's policy objectives in introducing the Bill are: 1) to ensure that environmental offences which meet the definition of ecocide are treated as criminal offences 2) to deter companies and individuals from acting in ways that may cause ecocide and 3) to maintain alignment with developments at EU level.
The Bill creates a new...
Amendments included those that sought to:
strengthen the proposed new requirement for social housing providers to take account of a domestic abuse policy
enable a review of women's refuge provision
enable the public debt of domestic abuse survivors (for example, rent arrears) to be written off
expand the definition of domestic violence to cover coercive con...
In addition, the instrument will increase the maximum period that eligible individuals can spend released on HDC, from the current maximum of 180 days to a new maximum of 210 days.
The changes will further support preparation for release and managed re-integration following a custodial sentence, whilst also assisting with the longer-term management of the p...
Annexe A - Record of divisions disagreed
At paragraph 117, Stephen Kerr MSP proposed alternative wording as follows: “The Committee recognises that accessing opportunities to work, study or volunteer internationally now involves new requirements for young people travelling between the UK and the EU.
You can read more about what common frameworks are on our intergovernmental activity hub.
No new framework agreements were published during the reporting period.