§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list those areas of land which support more than 1 per cent. of the British population of breeding whimbrel and in each case indicate those which have been notified and confirmed as sites of special scientific interest under section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe Nature Conservancy Council advises that the majority of breeding whimbrel in Great Britain are to be found in Shetland. I refer the hon. Member to the NCC report "Shetland Moorland Bird Surveys 1986", a copy of which has been placed in the Library. Sites of special scientific interest are
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Expenditure (£s) per head of population (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) Total Net Expenditure Grant Aided Expenditure Community Charge Income Revenue Support Grant Non-Domestic Rate Income Specific Grant Borders 851 770 131 559 97 50 Central 775 686 158 384 177 44 Dumfries 817 754 140 511 123 43 Fife 819 693 183 374 202 40 Grampian 764 695 124 437 163 40 Highland 1,017 859 143 613 180 53 Lothian 834 651 234 316 208 57 Strathclyde 853 741 159 450 176 59 Tayside 817 717 161 444 151 50 Regions 838 721 166 430 176 53 Orkney 1,242 1,094 98 761 346 38 Shetland 2,457 1,219 65 1,371 931 47 Western Isles 1,596 1,170 107 1,267 160 60 Islands 1,766 1,165 92 1,164 447 50 Berwickshire 99 79 23 48 17 1 Ettrick and Lauderdale 104 84 29 40 28 1 Roxburgh 118 87 32 56 22 1 Tweeddale 99 85 31 48 20 1 Clackmannan 163 117 76 35 51 1 Falkirk 123 101 32 27 57 1 Stirling 193 133 79 35 74 7 Annandale and Eskdale 109 83 42 33 28 0 Nithsdale 108 89 36 31 35 1 selected according to the guidelines published by the NCC in 1989. The assessment of individual sites is based upon the range and quality of the habitat required to sustain populations of protected species such as whimbrel. Other factors are also taken into account in the process of site notification in Shetland and elsewhere. As a result sites are not generally attributed to a single species but usually represent the best example of the habitat available in a particular area.