EIR/202600509812 · FOI/EIR · not held
Annual Scottish Government funding contribution to Strategic Action Plan on Wildfires: EIR release
Information requested
The total amount of annual funding that will be contributed by the Scottish Government to the new action plan to tackle wildfires announced during the week commencing 2 March 2026.
Response
As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.
This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because the Scottish Government is not solely responsible for the Actions in the Strategic Action Plan and we therefore do not have a total figure on funding which will be contributed by the Scottish Government. I have provided a fuller explanation on this below.
Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4) (a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have.
This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about cloud seeding, and whether the Scottish Government participates in it, clearly, we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
It may be helpful if I explain that Strategic Action Plan on Wildfires sets out a coordinated approach to preventing, preparing for and responding to wildfires in Scotland. It contains 18 actions across the 3 pillars of prevention, preparedness and response.
Actions include:
Strengthening public awareness of wildfire risk; Investment in SFRS wildfire capacity, including a tactical burn back team, 4 new wildfire support units and new vehicles and equipment; Improving coordination between SFRS and other responders; Developing Incident Response Plans; Strengthening multi-agency training; Enhancing wildfire danger assessments; Enabling local authority byelaws on fire prevention; and Expanding the register of community volunteers and assets.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is responsible for leading on and coordinating a number of the actions within the Strategic Action Plan, with the involvement of other partners where appropriate.
The Scottish Budget for 2026-27 provides the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) with an additional £23.8 million, which brings the total budget to £435.96 million. This demonstrates the Scottish Government’s continued commitment to support the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to deliver the high standard of services required to keep Scotland safe. SFRS’s planned spend on its wildfire strategy, created with partnership at its heart, is circa £1.6 over the course of its three year roll-out. SFRS expect to have fully implemented their wildfire strategy by the end of 2026. The strategy considers the increased risk of wildfire and changing climate in Scotland; the latest developments in wildfire management, training, and operational procedures; and the advances in technology that have been made in Personal Protective Equipment and other specialist wildfire equipment. The strategy will support delivery of a number of actions within the Strategic Action Plan throughout 2026, and beyond then, SFRS will continue to invest in equipment, vehicles and training to strengthen its response to wildfires in the coming years ahead.
Where actions are being led or coordinated by the Scottish Government, full consideration will be given to any associated funding requirements. For example, the Scottish Government is currently working with partners to scope a project to increase the resilience and robustness of Scotland’s existing system of wildfire danger assessments. The Scottish Government has secured a fellowship with Professor Rory Hadden from the University of Edinburgh’s Fire Research Centre to provide expert advice on the research and evidence requirements that will improve Scotland’s wildfire risk assessment and mapping. These research requirements will be taken into consideration when the Scottish Government commissions research within the next Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Strategic Research Programme.
About FOI
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Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Correspondence Unit Email: contactus@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrew's House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG
Detected exemption language
We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4) (a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have.
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