Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) and Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) data: EIR release

Information requested

A list of all subsidies related to deer management. I don't require application documentation or other similar materials. I'd be grateful if you could please provide a spreadsheet which lists all recipients of subsidies related to deer management.

Please note the [Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications] at Scottish Forestry recently informed me that he was no longer relying on regulation 11(2) (Personal data relating to third party) of the EIRs to some of the information) for a similar request relating to subsidy recipients.

For each recipient, please specify the purpose of each grant they were awarded, the amount of money awarded and the rough location of where the subsidised deer management was due to take place. Please also break the data down by year.

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.

I'd be grateful if you could please provide a list of all subsidies related to deer management. I don't require application documentation or other similar materials. I'd be grateful if you could please provide a spreadsheet which lists all recipients of subsidies related to deer management.

Please note the [Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications] at Scottish Forestry recently informed me that he was no longer relying on regulation 11(2) (Personal data relating to third party) of the EIRs to some of the information) for a similar request relating to subsidy recipients.

For each recipient, please specify the purpose of each grant they were awarded, the amount of money awarded and the rough location of where the subsidised deer management was due to take place. Please also break the data down by year.

Please find attached the information we hold in relation to your request which are spreadsheets of the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) data and the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) return to answer this query.

We have interpreted the use of 23/24 in this request to relate to the 2023 claim year that runs from April 2023 to March 2024 for forestry activities and is commonly referred to as 23/24 planting season.

To respond to the request for “other subsidies relating to deer management”, we have provided detail on all FGS protection measures to secure new and existing woodland against deer browsing, and information on FGS grants that specifically fund deer control, as well as the SMF species conservation – reducing deer impact option.

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.

EIR 202500446638 - Information released - AECS return

File type

Excel document

File size

45.5 kB

EIR 202500446638 - Information released - FGS data

File type

Excel document

File size

14.1 kB