Native woodland creation data: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Information requested
The total level of native woodland creation and non-native woodland creation over the past three years, for
a) Scotland,
b) the Cairngorms National Park area.
I have attached information disclosed to me by LLTNPA. I would be extremely grateful if the information could be provided covering the same time period and in the same format.
If you are only able to provide conifer/broadleaf levels, please also provide the proportions of specific species to allow us to calculate the figures on the same basis as LLTNPA.
Response
(The attached information referred to in the above was an EIR response dated 28 April 2026 with Ref: EIR-2026-009 from Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority.)
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.
The total level of native woodland creation and non-native woodland creation over the past three years, for
a) Scotland
Please find attached the information we hold in relation to your request with title:‘FGS Native Woodland Creation 2005 – 2024’
Please note:
This table shows the total area of native woodland creation funded by the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) or declared to us at Scottish Forestry.
Scottish Forestry calculated Native Woodland in the attached table as follows:
FGS - Deriving a figure for native woodland area (from 2018/19 onwards)
Conifer Option - 5% Native BL
Diverse Conifer Option - 5% Native BL
All Native Options - 100% Native
Broadleaves & Small or Farm Options - 0% Native
Natural Regeneration - 100% Native. Conifer/BL split as declared on case by case basis or 90/10 if unknown.
The table is calculated once a year by Scottish Forestry, for Scotland as a whole only, and the table we have provided with the response is up to the latest complete year (with 25/26 data not yet available). However, this table does not include information on Forestry and Land Scotland native woodland creation, and you may wish to contact Forestry and Land Scotland at
freedomofinformation@forestryandland.gov.scot who may be able to help you.
The EIR response provided with the request dated 28 April 2026, with Ref: EIR-2026-009, from Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority does not provide details of how the figures were generated, so it might be worth noting that they may not be directly comparable to the figures we are providing for part (a) Scotland, as these may have been generated differently.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.
b) the Cairngorms National Park area
The Cairngorms National Park area is not a reporting region for woodland creation in our case management system, and we cannot therefore create management reports based on this. To answer this query, Scottish Forestry would need to undertake bespoke spatial analysis, which has not been undertaken.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.
You may find it helpful to note that bespoke spatial analysis can be undertaken by using Scottish Forestry’s Open Data Hub: https://www.forestry.gov.scot/open-data-hub
You may also find it helpful to see the attached data we have attached in two spreadsheets which show woodland creation options (planting) and natural regeneration approved under the Forestry Grant Scheme within the Cairngorms National Park. This includes the last 3 years which you have requested. You will note that the total of woodland creation and natural regeneration is 13930.15 ha of which 50% is natural regeneration of native woodlands, predominately Caledonian pinewoods. The total of the native woodland creation options is 5760.22 ha meaning that to date 12,796 ha of native woodland has been approved within Cairngorms National Park. In addition, there is a native component of the conifer and diverse conifer options and in the Cairngorms National Park most of the Diverse Conifer is Scots pine meaning that well over 90% of the woodland creation is native woodland. This is a significant contribution to the delivery of the Cairngorms National Park Plan and expansion of the native woodland habitat network in the Cairngorms.
As the EIR response provided with the request dated 28 April 2026 with Ref: EIR-2026-009 from Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority did not include details of how the figures were generated, it may be worth noting that they may not be directly comparable to the figures that we are providing within the above advice for part (b) Cairngorms, which may have been generated differently.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to
provide some of the information you have requested because an exception under regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held) and 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information you have requested. Please see Annex A for the reasons these exceptions apply.
ANNEX A
REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION
Personal data relating to third party
An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.
Information not held
Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because:
i. We calculate woodland created in relation to the Forestry Grant Scheme, or declared to us at Scottish Forestry, for Scotland as a whole (with data for 25/26 not yet available), which does not include Forestry and Land Scotland native woodland creation.
ii. The example EIR response provided with the request does not provide details of how the figures were generated, so may not be directly comparable to the figures we are providing for, as these may have been generated differently.
iii. The Cairngorms National Park area is not a reporting region for woodland creation in Scottish Forestry’s case management system, and we cannot therefore create management reports based on this.
This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about the total level of native woodland creation and non-native woodland creation over the past three years, for Scotland and the Cairngorms National Park area, clearly, we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
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.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG