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Since wildcats are already present in the Cairngorms, any proposal to release wildcats in this area would be a translocation project to reinforce the existing population, rather than a reintroduction.

The ‘Saving Wildcats’ project submitted a licence application to NatureScot in September 2022 to permit the translocation of wildcats to sites in the Cairngorms Connect Project area from conservation breeding facilities.

In considering the licence application, NatureScot assessed the extent to which the application followed the best practice guidelines set out in the Scottish Code for Conservation Translocations. These guidelines involve a range of biological and socio-economic considerations. Also, as part of this process a full ‘Habitats Regulations Appraisal’ was undertaken to assess impacts of the project on European protected sites within the release area.

NatureScot has recently approved the licence application, and has published a licensing decision document at https://www.nature.scot/doc/decision-document-license-application-220947-licence-release-captive-breed-wildcats-felis-silvestris

The purpose of the guidelines which HM Inspectors publish are designed to support schools to prepare for an inspection. The guidelines describe how inspection teams work in particular sectors or areas of provision. This guidance sets out what to expect from an inspection and outlines the types of activity undertaken by inspection teams. This guidance is published on Education Scotland’s website.

Education Scotland has a complaints handling procedure that sets out what providers and stakeholders can complain about in relation to inspection and how a complaint is dealt with.

Scottish Ministers’ powers relating to inspection of educational establishments and services are set out in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. Under this legislation, any person who wilfully obstructs HM Inspectors in the pursuance of their inspection duties is committing an offence. This is the only aspect of the conduct of inspection that is enforceable.

The planting is designed to deliver specific objectives such as landscape integration, screening/shelter, and ecological enhancement etc. However, this does not necessarily mean 100% of the stock planted needs to establish in order to achieve the objectives. A number of annual inspections are carried out by the landscape architect throughout each year of the 5 year establishment period. These inspections determine whether the planting is on course to deliver the intended design outcomes, and can result in remedial actions for the contractor to carry out.

Over 1,000 replacement trees have been planted so far in 2023. Inspections will continue over summer of 2023 to monitor the development of the planting design before deciding what future remedial works and/or replanting may be necessary.

Other remedial works may include applying fertiliser or improving drainage. Fertiliser has already been applied to around 140,000 square metres of tree beds in 2023 to date. Trial removal of tree guards is underway in selected plots and this will be carefully monitored to assess any impact from grazing deer.

The HPMA site selection guidelines, which formed part of the consultation that closed on 17 April 2023, states that the site selection process will be “based in all cases around the conservation of marine ecosystems as the priority, and driven by the presence of the following functions and resources of significance to Scotland’s seas” which include “essential fish habitats” and “strengthening the Scottish MPA network”. This may include enhancing ecological connectivity where, for example, the movement of mobile species or the transport of some species’ offspring from place to place adds value.

We have sought views on whether additional functions and resources should also inform HPMA identification as part of the consultation.

A success rate of tree planting is not recorded as such. The planting is designed to deliver specific objectives such as landscape integration, screening/shelter, and ecological enhancement etc. However, this does not necessarily mean 100% of the stock planted needs to establish in order to achieve the objectives. A number of annual inspections are carried out by the landscape architect throughout each year of the 5 year establishment period. These inspections determine whether the planting is on course to deliver the intended design outcomes, and can result in remedial actions for the contractor to carry out.

The planting design is for a relatively high density of approximately 1 plant per square metre. It is anticipated that some plants will fail due to natural competition or the challenges presented by local conditions. In areas where a significant proportion of plants fail then it would be more likely that replanting will be required, and this has been the philosophy adopted for the first few years of the maintenance period. It is estimated that approximately 25% of plants have failed to establish over the first three years since planting. The inspections have determined that approximately 15% of plant failures will require to be replaced in order to achieve the aims of the design.

This update has already been made. One sentence on the ARE Directorate home page was found to be out of date. After discovering that was the case, it was removed immediately. We have added the page to our regular review schedule.

As I set out in my recent answer to S6W-16591 on 26 April 2023, the Scottish Government has no plans to reintroduce lynx or any other large carnivorous species into Scotland. However, the Scottish Government is aware that appropriate species reintroductions can be beneficial to ecosystems and restoring biodiversity.

Neither the Scottish Government, nor NatureScot, have carried out any formal assessment of any potential impact that lynx would have on livestock in Scotland.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

A review of distribution and management options for American signal crayfish in Scotland was carried out under the Species Action Framework . This concluded that introductions of this invasive species can lead to permanent, adverse, changes in the ecology of fresh waters and that awareness and prevention are key elements for control of this species.

Control and eradication using biocides is expensive and only possible in enclosed water bodies, such as ponds, while conventional control measures for signal crayfish, such as trapping, are ineffective. The uncontrolled use of traps is likely to result in the spread of this species to new areas, therefore the trapping of signal crayfish is not permitted in Scotland for control or consumption. This position was reached as a result of the evidence gathered in relation to Parliamentary Petition PE01558 , in 2015, which concluded that allowing commercial trapping of signal crayfish, even as a control measure, is likely to lead to the expansion of its range.

An unintended consequence of selective harvesting is the increased growth and earlier maturation of juvenile crayfish, which can cause the population to increase. Maintenance of strict licensing controls and improved surveillance for illegal harvesting activity are essential. The keeping and movement of signal crayfish is prohibited in Scotland, except for authorised surveys or research, and can be prosecuted as a criminal offence. Scottish agencies work with Police Scotland whenever there are reports of illegal activity.

In 2019 SEPA entered into a Species Control Agreement with Forestry and Land Scotland to ensure biosecurity is enacted in all forestry activities in the Galloway Forest area, where a high risk of spreading signal crayfish within and out of the area had been identified.

Agencies such as SEPA and NatureScot also work with partners to promote biosecurity good practice through the Check Clean Dry campaign to prevent the spread of all invasive non-native species; key partners in this are Fishery Trusts, Boards and Foundations, the Scottish Canoe Association, Scottish Canals and the Royal Yachting Association.

The Scottish Government is committed to a service design approach to policy making involving user-centred co-development. Appropriate testing and measurement will be applied at each stage of development and following implementation of measures to evaluate their ease, cost and impact against the outcomes of the Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture.

Examples underway this month include testing the list of measures published on 10 February directly with farmers who engaged in the Testing Actions for Sustainable Farming survey . This is being done through interviews conducted by professional researchers to understand how stakeholders view the measures and their applicability within future agricultural support mechanisms as well as areas for improvement.

Avian influenza in mammals is a notifiable disease and Scottish Ministers have powers to investigate and control the potential spread of influenza of avian origin in non-avian species.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) routinely undertakes diagnostic testing of wild animals found dead under the GB wildlife surveillance scheme. Retrospective and active testing of samples has enabled us to identify and observe clinical signs of influenza of avian origin in mammals and to share this information with official veterinarians to increase their awareness. Samples taken as part of this scheme, since October 2021, have detected the presence of H5N1 influenza in a total of 23 mammals in the UK, of which 5 were detected in Scotland. The detection of the virus does not mean that it was the cause of death of these animals.

The Scottish Government regularly exercises our response to disease outbreaks in collaboration with operational partners and public health colleagues across Great Britain. This includes our response to avian influenza in both birds and mammals.

The infection of mammals with influenza of avian origin remains uncommon, including in humans. Avian influenza viruses remain predominantly a pathogen that affects birds, and globally, given the huge number of kept and wild birds that have been infected, only a small number of findings of naturally acquired Influenza A(H5N1) infections in mammals have been reported.