Written Question · S4W-19252 · Session 4
How many (a) farmers and (b) crofters applied for compensation under the Sea Eagle Management Scheme, broken down by parliamentary constitu…
The question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) farmers and (b) crofters applied for compensation under the Sea Eagle Management Scheme, broken down by parliamentary constituency.
The answer
The Sea Eagle Management Scheme pays for positive management of sheep flocks, in order to reduce conflict with sea eagles. It does not pay compensation for lamb losses. The scheme ran for three years from 2011–13, and closed in summer 2013, but Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) will honour all agreements entered into under the Scheme. Through the scheme, SNH offered three-year management agreements (MAs) to land managers.
SNH received 70 applications, all of which resulted in management agreements being offered to the applicants.
Of those 70 management agreement offers, 62 have been accepted or concluded by the land manager and 7 agreements were rejected by the applicants. The final management agreement was only offered recently, so it is not known whether the land manager will accept the offer.
Of the 62 concluded agreements:
1 contains ‘special measures to reduce impacts from sea eagles’
2 contain ‘promotional measures’
4 contain ‘special measures to benefit sea eagles’
58 contain ‘sheep management measures’
(The numbers add up to more than 62 because some MA’s contain more than 1 element)
Of the 62 concluded agreements:
17 are with crofters / common grazings
9 are in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch
1 in Argyll and Bute
5 in Caithness Sutherland and Ross (Wester Ross)
2 in Na h-Eileanan an Iar
2 are with constituted community groups (these are the two ‘promotional measures’ agreements)
1 in Argyll and Bute (Mull)
1 in Na h-Eileanan an Iar
43 are with farms/ estates (i.e. not registered croftland)
31 in Argyll and Bute
9 in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch
3 in Caithness, Sutherland and Ross (Wester Ross)
SNH has commissioned a review and evaluation of the scheme, on behalf of the assessment panel, and this will be completed by the end of March 2014. It will help inform the design of a new scheme, along with advice/input from the Sea Eagle Stakeholder Group, which advised on the design of the current management scheme.
The expectation is that a new scheme will be launched in late spring 2014. The budget for this has not yet been agreed, nor has its scope and geographical extent. SNH look forward to working with key interested bodies including the National Farmers Union Scotland and the Scottish Crofting Federation over the coming months to design a scheme that best meets the needs of land managers and others with an interest in sea eagle management.
In the meantime, SNH will continue to provide advice and assistance to land managers concerned by sea eagle impacts on their livestock.
SNH received 70 applications, all of which resulted in management agreements being offered to the applicants.
Of those 70 management agreement offers, 62 have been accepted or concluded by the land manager and 7 agreements were rejected by the applicants. The final management agreement was only offered recently, so it is not known whether the land manager will accept the offer.
Of the 62 concluded agreements:
1 contains ‘special measures to reduce impacts from sea eagles’
2 contain ‘promotional measures’
4 contain ‘special measures to benefit sea eagles’
58 contain ‘sheep management measures’
(The numbers add up to more than 62 because some MA’s contain more than 1 element)
Of the 62 concluded agreements:
17 are with crofters / common grazings
9 are in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch
1 in Argyll and Bute
5 in Caithness Sutherland and Ross (Wester Ross)
2 in Na h-Eileanan an Iar
2 are with constituted community groups (these are the two ‘promotional measures’ agreements)
1 in Argyll and Bute (Mull)
1 in Na h-Eileanan an Iar
43 are with farms/ estates (i.e. not registered croftland)
31 in Argyll and Bute
9 in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch
3 in Caithness, Sutherland and Ross (Wester Ross)
SNH has commissioned a review and evaluation of the scheme, on behalf of the assessment panel, and this will be completed by the end of March 2014. It will help inform the design of a new scheme, along with advice/input from the Sea Eagle Stakeholder Group, which advised on the design of the current management scheme.
The expectation is that a new scheme will be launched in late spring 2014. The budget for this has not yet been agreed, nor has its scope and geographical extent. SNH look forward to working with key interested bodies including the National Farmers Union Scotland and the Scottish Crofting Federation over the coming months to design a scheme that best meets the needs of land managers and others with an interest in sea eagle management.
In the meantime, SNH will continue to provide advice and assistance to land managers concerned by sea eagle impacts on their livestock.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S4W-19252 by reference.