Freedom of Information Request – Report by Professor Rory Putman

Thank you for your information request, which we received on 16 July 2024. We have considered your request under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (‘the EIRs’).

Your Request

Could provide me with information about the publication status of the report by Professor Rory Putman entitled "Linking Cull Planning with HIA: practical considerations", please. If not yet published, please could you include all the relevant exchanges relating to its progress (or lack thereof) from the submission of the first draft to its current state?

Our Response

Following discussion with our Wildlife Management colleagues we can confirm a report was commissioned and received by Professor Rory Putman. However, there is no plan to publish this report. The work was commissioned to inform internal discussions on policy development.

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.