Civil servants were involved in work related to For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers as part of their role to support and advise Ministers.

The Scottish Government has published some information already on costs. Final costs in relation to the case are still being determined and are not yet available. We will publish the total cost of the case when it is fully complete.

Legal costs for judicial review on gender representation on public boards: FOI release - gov.scot

Inner House appeal on the statutory guidance for the Gender Representation: FOI release - gov.scot

Legal costs of Supreme Court case against For Women Scotland: FOI release - gov.scot

The content of any legal advice is confidential.

In respect of offshore wind farms, six reports have been submitted to the Marine Directorate – Licensing Operations Team. Reports consider the distribution and abundance of seabirds around wind farms or protected sites and what this may mean in terms of their displacement from wind farm areas, with some reports discussing implications for collision avoidance rates used in modelling.

All information related to determinations made by Scottish Ministers in respect of onshore wind farm developments, which may include conditions such as post-construction ornithological monitoring, is publicly available on our Energy Consents website: https://www.energyconsents.scot/ApplicationSearch.aspx.

The Scottish Government does not currently have plans to update the Scottish seabird sensitivity map. The Scottish seabird sensitivity map was last published in August 2024 following updates in over 2021-2023. There are various streams of work underway through the Scottish Marine Energy Research Programme (ScotMER) that will improve relevant parameters including seabird distributions, population trends and collision risk, required to update the tool. Once this work is completed, we may revisit and update the seabird sensitivity map.

As part of their applications for consent under the Electricity Act 1989, developers undertake environmental impact assessment (EIA), including collision risk modelling to estimate annual collisions in respect of ornithological receptors. The results of such modelling for offshore wind are available within the EIA Reports published on the Marine Directorate – Licensing Operations Team website: https://marine.gov.scot/marine-projects.

Data provided by offshore wind developers indicate a total of 2 confirmed collisions have been reported at operational offshore wind farms in the last 5 years – one kittiwake (date not provided) and one herring gull (July 2024).

NatureScot collect data for bird strikes at onshore wind farms via their online reporting tool. The reporting is voluntary, meaning it is likely they only receive reports on a proportion of strikes. Where possible the data is supplemented with information they receive from general correspondence.

Scottish Government has not funded any projects into technical or operational measures to reduce bird collisions since 2020. Since 2020 Scottish Government has focussed on improving the evidence base on bird collision risk by funding research on establishing seabird flight heights and the quantification of potential collisions of seabirds with wind-turbine blades through modelling.

In respect of offshore wind farms, three consents have been issued since 1 January 2022. All three have requirements for ornithological monitoring via a condition for a Project Environmental Monitoring Programme (PEMP). In the event that further potential adverse environmental effects are identified, for which no predictions were made in the application, the Scottish Ministers may require the developer to undertake additional monitoring through the PEMP condition.

All information related to determinations made by Scottish Ministers in respect of onshore wind farm developments, including related conditions, is publicly available on our Energy Consents website: Scottish Government - Energy Consents Unit - Application Search . In cases where deemed planning permission is granted, any conditions of that deemed planning permission would be discharged by the Planning Authority.

In our response to Rural Affairs and Islands Committee Salmon Farming in Scotland report, we committed to prioritising progress to introduce penalties for fish farm escapes in 2026-2027.

In terms of environmental non-compliance, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has powers to issue fixed and variable monetary penalties. Further details can be found on SEPA’s website: Enforcement | Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

In the current parliamentary session, the Scottish Government, acting in its capacity as Accountable Officer for the wider City and Regional Growth Deal programme has provided £695 million in funding to date (by end of Q4 2024-25) to Regional Partners. It is currently forecast that over £200 million of further funding will be drawn down, resulting in over £895 million of grant funding awarded by the end of the parliamentary session.