To 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.
The 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
| 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.