Minister for Environment welcomes new legal protections for swifts in Scotland - 56/2026

Minister for Environment, John Cortes, has welcomed the Scottish Parliament's passing of a new requirement for swift boxes to be installed in all new buildings. Until now, Gibraltar has been the only place where swift nest sites have been required as planning policy.

Minister Cortes has been actively involved in promoting the requirement for swift boxes in Westminster, working with campaigners including Hannah Bourne-Taylor and Lord Goldsmith, to advocate for increased protections for swifts and other endangered birds. Minister Cortes addressed a gathering of MPs, Peers and representatives of environmental NGOs at an event at the House of Lords in May last year, sharing Gibraltar's experience and best practices in this area

As quoted in The Guardian, The Minister for Environment, the Hon Prof John Cortes, said: "Scotland's decision on swift bricks is a significant step in ensuring the survival of this species, which has come to depend so much on us. On the 'Rock' we have had this policy for several decades and we have seen a declining population of swifts first stabilise and then increase."