The fifth National Plant Health Week is taking place from 5-12 May 2025. It is a designated week of activity to raise awareness amongst the public, and professional operators on how to keep our plants healthy.

The United Nations designated 12 May the International Day of Plant Health (IDPH) to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect biodiversity and the environment, and boost economic development.

The Scottish Government has published a new comprehensive five-year plan aimed at protecting plant health across Scotland.

Pause of Scottish log exports to Ireland following finding of Ips Cembrae beetles at Irish port

Woodland managers, landowners and the forestry industry are encouraged to remain vigilant as the Forestry Commission announces a number of new Ips typographus findings in the South East of England.

A new partnership between the PHC and Lauriston Farm in Edinburgh will increase biosecurity in the farm through workshops, resources and protocols.

Surveys carried out by Scottish Forestry and Forest Research in the woodlands surrounding the port of Grangemouth have revealed no evidence of a wider breeding population of Ips typographus.

A new fund is available for UK biosecurity. The Small Business Research Initiative: Plant Health Innovations for Biosecurity is now open for applicants. Deadline 20th December 2023

In a significant development for Scotland's forestry industry, a solitary Ips typographus, commonly known as the Spruce Bark Beetle, was found in a trap within a Fife woodland as part of a new surveillance program by Scottish Forestry.

The UK Government has published a new Border Target Operating Model (29th August 2023), setting out new controls to create a world-class border system based on smarter use of data and technology. The model has been developed in collaboration with the Scottish and Welsh Governments to implement a coherent approach.