Sites of Special Scientific Interest

HC Deb 29 April 2004 vol 420 cc1204-5W

Joan Ruddock

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what resources her Department makes available to local authorities for Sites of Special Scientific Interest; and how much was made available in 2003–04. [164971]

Mr. Bradshaw

The overall funding requirements of local authorities is a matter for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The Department does not provide direct funding to local authorities specifically for the management of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). SSSI landowners and managers, such as local authorities, are able to access, subject to conditions, a variety of funding streams which can benefit SSSIs, including from English Nature, agri-environment schemes and from lottery or EU sources. English Nature estimate that overall local authorities own or manage about 4.7 per cent. of England's SSSI land.