Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum

Overview

About the Bill

As introduced, the Bill has four main parts.

Part 1 says that the Scottish Government must introduce targets to improve biodiversity.

Part 2 allows the Scottish Government to make and change laws relating to the Environmental Impact Assessments regime and the Habitats Regulations. This would replace a power that was lost as a result of the UK’s exit from the EU.

Part 3 updates the aims of National Parks and makes changes to the way National Parks are run.

Part 4 relates to the management of wild deer.

Current Status of the Bill

This Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands on 19 February 2025.

Read and find out more about the Bill: Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill.

Stage 1

The Rural Affairs and Islands has been designated as the lead Committee for the Bill. A separate call for views on the Bill’s policy provisions has been issued by the lead Committee and has been published on this consultation platform.

Financial Memorandum

As with all Bills, the Finance and Public Administration Committee invites written evidence on the estimated financial implications of the Bill as set out in its accompanying Financial Memorandum (FM).

Read the FM published alongside this Bill

Making a submission

Before making a submission, please read our privacy notice about submitting your views to a Committee. This tells you about how we process personal data.

Please note that in most cases your submission will be published on the Scottish Parliament's website and may be quoted in the Committee's report or in Committee meetings (which are public and broadcast).

Please use the questionnaire provided for your submission:

1. Did you take part in any consultation exercise preceding the Bill and, if so, did you comment on the financial assumptions made? 
    
2. If applicable, do you believe your comments on the financial assumptions have been accurately reflected in the FM? 
    
3. Did you have sufficient time to contribute to the consultation exercise?
    
4. If the Bill has any financial implications for you or your organisation, do you believe that they have been accurately reflected in the FM? If not, please provide details.
    
5. Do you consider that the estimated costs and savings set out in the FM are reasonable and accurate?
    
6. If applicable, are you content that your organisation can meet any financial costs that it might incur as a result of the Bill? If not, how do you think these costs should be met? 
    
7. Does the FM accurately reflect the margins of uncertainty associated with the Bill’s estimated costs and with the timescales over which they would be expected to arise?

The deadline to submit your views is: Monday 12 May 2025.

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language. Due to the time required to process and analyse evidence, late submissions will only be accepted with the agreement of the Committee Clerk.