Peatland restoration projects: EIR release

Information requested

1. “How many hectares of peatland has been restored so far in 2024?”

2. “How many projects are currently operating in Scotland to restore peatland?”

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the Purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Question 1

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the specific information you are seeking in relation to peatland restoration. Therefore, with respect to your request this is a formal notice under Regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs confirming that the Scottish Government does not hold this information.

It may help if I explain that we do not hold complete figures in relation to the number of hectares of peatland that have been restored so far in 2024 up to and including the date of your request (25 October 2024). 2023-24 saw 10,360 hectares restored – the highest amount in a single year. The delivery of over 10,000 hectares of peatland restoration in 2023-24 has served as a benchmark for activity, with a further 10,000 hectares committed to be delivered this year in the September 2024 Programme for Government (PfG).

I would also like to highlight that Scottish Government funded peatland restoration is delivered by Peatland ACTION - a partnership established by the Scottish Government with five public sector Delivery Partners: NatureScot, Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority, Scottish Water, Cairngorms National Park Authority, and Forestry and Land Scotland. NatureScot also coordinates additional functions across the partnership such as data collection/reporting.

Operational and delivery aspects of the programme are a matter for each respective Peatland ACTION Delivery Partner. Targets and forecasts are currently identified by the Delivery Partners themselves based on their existing project pipelines. Funding is allocated on an annual basis and the Peatland ACTION Delivery Partners provide regular updates to Scottish Government regarding their pipeline of projects.

You may wish to contact NatureScot who may hold the information you are seeking. Contact information for NatureScot can be found here.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. It is important to note that although we do not hold the information and have applied Regulation 10(4)(a) – information not held, it is a requirement that we have to apply the public interest test.

Wider guidance on the Environmental Information regime can be found in the Key Concepts section under ‘Information Not Held’ and ‘The Public Interest Test’ in the attached Scottish Information Commissioner Briefings and Guidance document. Further guidance on the public interest test can also be found on page 8 of the Scottish Information Commissioner guidance.

Question 2

As of November 2024 there are 33 Peatland ACTION projects currently operating in Scotland.

As outlined in my response to Question 1, it may help if I explain that Scottish Government funded peatland restoration is delivered by Peatland ACTION - a partnership established by the Scottish Government with five public sector Delivery Partners: NatureScot, Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority, Scottish Water, Cairngorms National Park Authority, and Forestry and Land Scotland. NatureScot also coordinates additional functions across the partnership such as data collection/reporting.

Operational and delivery aspects of the programme are a matter for each respective Peatland ACTION Delivery Partner. Targets and forecasts are currently identified by the Delivery Partners themselves based on their existing project pipelines. Funding is allocated on an annual basis and the Peatland ACTION Delivery Partners provide regular updates to Scottish Government regarding their pipeline of projects.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.