Freedom of Information Request - fund to tackle disruptive seagull populations
Date: 11 November 2025
Our ref: SIR182051/A5555934
Information Request – fund to tackle disruptive seagull populations
Your Request
'Please could I request the following information:
1) Please could you outline how the £100,000 fund to tackle disruptive seagull populations will be divided up around Scotland?
2) Please could you outline the circumstances that will allow an award from this fund?
3) Please could you outline what money from the fund will be allowed to be spent on?
4) How long will the fund be available for?'
Our Response
Following a search of the information we hold our response is below.
Arrangements for the administration of the fund, which will be made available to local authorities to help support sustainable gull management measures, are yet to be agreed and are still under development. We are therefore withholding details under EIR exemption Regulation 10(4)(d) -
Material in the course of completion, unfinished documents, and incomplete data (Environmental Information Regulations). We are aiming to publish details on our website by the end of November 2025.
The final agreed fund is £96,000. This is for this financial year only; there is no confirmed budget for 2026/27.
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
