Summary
Scottish Forestry is the Scottish Government agency responsible for forestry policy, support and regulation.
The core public functions of Scottish Forestry are:
Scottish Forestry (SF) is an executive agency of the Scottish Government.
Scottish Forestry are delivering on behalf of Scottish Ministers the powers and functions conferred on Ministers in the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018 (FLM Act 2018). This is focused on promoting and supporting sustainable forest management (Section 2).
Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)
Scottish Forestry undertakes the following public tasks, in line various pieces of legislation:
Administering grants
Administering grants mainly for the:
- creation of new woodlands to contribute towards the Scottish Government’s target of delivering 18,000 hectares of new woodlands per year beyond 2024/25
- sustainable management of existing woodlands and providing other support to land managers under the Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data) (Scotland) Act 2020
Regulating the management of forests
Regulating the management of forests across Scotland, including the:
- planting and felling of trees (Parts 3 and 4 of Forest and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018)
- measures related to tree health (The Plant Health (Official Controls and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2019), and The Forestry (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017
Providing policy and evidence input
We have a duty to promote sustainable forest management (Section 2 FLM Act 2018).
Scotland’s Forestry Strategy sets out our delivery mechanisms including:
- research
- partnership working
- direct delivery (Section 3 FLM Act 2018)
Functions carried out can include:
- conducting research and inquiries
- collection of data and publish statistics or other information
- providing education and training (Section 69 FLM Act 2018)
Delivery of cross-border forestry functions
Under the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2019 cross-border forestry arrangements were strengthened and revised on a range of functions through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The MoU sets out the details of the governance, commissioning and funding arrangement agreed between the Scottish, Welsh and UK Governments and the Forestry Commission.
Scotland has responsibility for the UK Forestry Standard, the Woodland Carbon Code and forestry economics advice - functions co-ordinated by Scottish Forestry.
