Information relating to review of Schedule 2 to Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981: EIR release

Information requested

In relation to the review of Schedule 2 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Defra announced a consultation (available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-protection-for huntable-wild-birds) on 23rd March 2026.

We would be grateful if you could provide us with the following information:

1. Any correspondence, meeting minutes, notes, briefings or other recorded information held by the Scottish Government relating to engagement with external organisations concerning Schedule 2, including but not limited to the RSPB, BTO, WWT.
2. Any such information falling within (1) that relates specifically to consultation, notification or informal engagement with those organisations prior to the public launch or publication of the Schedule 2 review.
3. The dates of any meetings held between the Scottish Government and the organisations listed above (or other environmental NGOs) at which Schedule 2 was discussed, together with any agendas or minutes or readouts for those meetings.
4. Please limit the timeframe of this request to the period between 1st January 2025 and 23rd March 2026.

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.

Questions 1 – 3
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested as there have been no recorded interactions with external organisations or NGOs where Schedule 2 has been discussed in the context of your request.

It may help if I explain that as part of the response to your request we have conducted a search of the Scottish Government’s main records filing system and have been unable to locate the information requested. I would also note that a search request was submitted to Scottish Government Officials which also resulted in no information being identified that would be within the scope of your request.

Therefore, with respect to your request for engagements with external organisations regarding Schedule 2, this is a formal notice under Regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs confirming that the Scottish Government does not hold this information.

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.

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.