Current status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 11 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30360 by Alasdair Allan on 9 October 2024, what funding is being made available to support work in the Central Lowlands, beyond the northern areas.
As I set out in response to S6W-30360 we are providing a range of support and funding to work that aims to promote red squirrel populations. Alongside the support detailed in my previous answer, we have also recently awarded the Eastern Lowlands Red Squirrel Group a development grant of £59,500 through the Scottish Government Nature Restoration Fund. The funding will be used to create a conservation strategy dedicated to protecting and restoring the red squirrel population across the eastern lowlands.
The grant will support a year-long initiative to get a better understanding of population sizes of both red and grey squirrels across Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan-shire, and identify key challenges and opportunities for safeguarding Scotland's beloved native red squirrels in the face of growing environmental pressures.