Freedom of Information Request - Change in gull licences
Date: 12 August 2025
Our ref: SIR180994/A5326147
Information Request – Change in gull licences
Your Request
I am writing to make an information request under the FOI and EIR regulations. I request any information, including statistics, meeting minutes, consultation information, statutory instruments, legal analyses, scientific documentation including estimations of the populations, that were in involved in the process of deciding to remove gulls from the general license 2019/2020, and later on tighten the requirements for getting a license (2023).
Especially, I want to get any legal analyses of the general licenses’ compatibility with EU legislation, produced for or reviewed by Nature Scotland/other Scottish authorities, during the process of changing the licensing and provisions regarding gull management.
Our Response
Following a search of the information we hold our response is attached separately. The Seabirds Count is referenced in the attached.
We have withheld some legal advice from the attached. This information is being withheld as correspondence with our professional legal advisors falls under legal advice privilege, as it was carried out in circumstances imparting an obligation of confidentiality. While we acknowledge that it can be in the public interest to publish legal advice, in this case the public interest is served by maintaining the principle of legal advice privilege. We therefore withhold this information under EIRs Regulation 10(5)(d) (confidentiality provided in law).
We have also marked out (redacted) some risk information relating to assumptions around stakeholders. We have concluded that, in this specific instance, the public interest in making the information available is outweighed by the public interest in withholding it. There is a need, on occasion, to have a private discussion space for our staff to exchange views and information on developing areas of work. We are therefore withholding the information under EIRs Regulation 10(4)(e) (Internal communications).
We have withheld a draft third party report under EIR exemption Regulation 10(4)(d) - Material in the course of completion, unfinished documents, and incomplete data (Environmental Information Regulations). This report will be published in due course.
We have also redacted personal data in the documents provided. Releasing the personal data into the public domain in response to an access to information request would breach the Data Protection Act 2018. We are therefore withholding the information under EIRs Regulation 11(2) (Personal data).
How We Handled Your Request
We believe you have asked for environmental information as defined in the Environmental Information (Scotland Regulations 2004 (‘the EIRs’), so we are dealing with your request under those regulations. To be able to use the EIRs, we must apply an exemption under section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (‘FOISA’). The Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance recommends that public authorities apply this exemption to environmental information and handle request under the EIRs.
If you would like to find out more about the access to information legislation, there is a guidance booklet available on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website.
Review and Appeal
I hope this information meets your requirements, but if you are dissatisfied with how we have responded to your information request, please write to us within 40 working days explaining your concerns. You can contact us at Battleby, Redgorton, Perth, PH1 3EW or email us at [email protected]. We will carry out a review of our response and contact you with our findings within 20 working days.
If you are not satisfied following this, you can make an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner within 6 months. The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Yours sincerely
FOI Officer,
NatureScot
Document downloads
Due to accessibility issues the attached information, referenced above, is available on request by contacting the FOI team at [email protected]. Please reference the case number (starting with SIR).
