§ Lord Inglewoodasked Her Majesty's Government:
What measures they are proposing, in compliance with their international obligations and domestic political commitments to biodiversity, to help the Lake District National Park and other parks to address the problem of grey squirrels and the threat which they pose to red squirrels. [HL9.29]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty):I understand that as a matter of urgency, a special ecological report will be presented to a meeting of the National Park Authority's Implementation Committee in March, in response to concerns raised by members of the public, regarding the dramatic decline in the numbers of red squirrels within the Lake District National Park.
Numerous positive measures to enhance the red squirrel's chances of survival in the Lake District National Park, and other areas where isolated populations exist, are under way or are being planned. Measures include habitat management, targeted control of grey squirrels, operational and land use measures and future forest structure planning aimed at minimising conditions for colonisation of grey squirrels. This is in line with our international 79WA obligations under Article 8 (h) of the Convention on Biological Diversity and with our domestic biodiversity commitments. These are being taken forward by a range of governmental and voluntary organisations working in partnership under the red squirrel Biodiversity Action Plan.