Scottish government joins surge of accusations on Westminster's “attack on nature”

Scotland’s environment minister, Mairi McAllan, and biodiversity minister, Lorna Slater, have written to environment secretary, Ranil Jayawardena, calling on the UK government to drop the “damaging proposals” contained in the mini-budget and the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

They argued the proposals “represent an attack on nature (when we should be demonstrating global leadership in the lead up to the important CoP15 global summit), and on the devolved settlement itself”.

The letter authors wrote: “Your government has given little clarity over how the measures included in the mini-budget will be taken forward, and what the implications of them will be for Scotland. Nor have you engaged with us in advance on these issues. However, from the information that has been made available, we share the strong concerns highlighted by nature groups such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Woodland Trust. The proposals demonstrate a reckless attitude to legislation that has been developed over many decades and that enshrines vital protections for both nature and people.

“Your proposed measures also threaten to undermine our programme of planning reform that is underway in Scotland. National Planning Framework 4 will signal a turning point for planning in Scotland, and we have been clear that responding to both the global climate emergency and the nature crisis will be central to that.”

The ministers concluded: “Should you proceed regardless of our concerns and those of the public and civil society across the UK, then as a minimum we seek a guarantee that none of these measures will apply in Scotland without specific consent from the Scottish government.”

Meanwhile, this week, environmental Non-Govenment Organisations have continued building opposition to the Government’s agenda, including through calling on supporters to write to their MPs. The RSPB, WWF and the National Trust have also launched a campaign seeking public voices to co-create a “People’s Plan for Nature that no one can ignore.”