Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026

52 Sustainable forest management

(1) The Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018 is modified as follows.

(2) After section 8, insert—

“Power to make further provision in relation to sustainable forest management

8A Sustainable forest management: further provision

(1) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make further provision in connection with sustainable forest management (including the implementation of the forestry strategy).

(2) Regulations under this section may, in particular—

(a) require specified persons to comply with specified requirements of the UK Forestry Standard,

(b) provide for the issuing of a remedial notice under section 54(1) in respect of a failure to comply with such a specified requirement,

(c) make provision about circumstances in which the specified requirements do not apply.

(3) Before making regulations under this section, the Scottish Ministers must consult—

(a) persons that they consider are representative of the forestry sector in Scotland, and

(b) such other persons as they consider appropriate.

(4) In the event that there is a new edition of the UK Forestry Standard endorsed by the Scottish Ministers, the Scottish Ministers must—

(a) review any regulations made under this section, and

(b) if appropriate, lay a draft of a Scottish statutory instrument containing regulations updating the regulations before Parliament.

(5) For the purpose of this section—

(a) “the UK Forestry Standard” means—

(i) the fifth edition of the technical standard for sustainable forest management, published in 2023 and endorsed by the Scottish Ministers,

(ii) the most recently published subsequent edition of such standard which is endorsed by the Scottish Ministers, or

(iii) in the event of there being no published UK Forestry Standard which is endorsed by the Scottish Ministers, such other document as the Scottish Ministers consider most similar to the UK Forestry Standard,

(b) “specified” means specified in the regulations.”.

(3) In section 22 (key terms in Part 4), after the definition of “temporary stop notice” insert—

• ““UKFS requirement” means a requirement specified in regulations made under section 8A(1).”.

(4) In section 53 (power of entry: failure to comply)—

(a) in subsection (1)—

(i) the “or” immediately following paragraph (e) is repealed,

(ii) after paragraph (f), insert “, or

(g) a UKFS requirement.”,

(b) in subsection (2), for “or (as the case may be) the notice” substitute “, the notice or (as the case may be) the UKFS requirement”,

(c) in subsection (3), after paragraph (c) insert—

“(d) in the case of a UKFS requirement, the land on which the particular forestry activity to which the UKFS requirement relates is taking place.”.

(5) In section 54 (remedial notices)—

(a) in subsection (1)—

(i) the “or” immediately following paragraph (c) is repealed,

(ii) after paragraph (d), insert “, or

(e) a UKFS requirement.”,

(b) in subsection (3), for “or (as the case may be) registered notice to comply” substitute “, registered notice to comply or (as the case may be) UKFS requirement”.

(6) In section 76 (regulations), in subsection (2), before paragraph (a) insert—

“(za) section 8A(1),”.

(7) In schedule 3 (index of defined expressions), at the appropriate place insert—

“UKFS requirement

Section 22”.