FOI Request Natural Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004

Request 101001580072

• What steps has the Council taken to meet its section 1 duties under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 to promote biodiversity?
• The total amount spent by the council on promoting biodiversity in the last year for which data is available.
• How much the Council plans to spend on promoting biodiversity in the coming year.
• The name and contact details of the officer responsible for promoting biodiversity within the council (if there is no such person, please provide the name and contact details of the officer responsible for managing the Council’s green spaces).

Response 31-08-2017

• The Council is part of the North East of Scotland Local Biodiversity Action Plan Steering Group and has prepared a number of LBAP's. The Council does not have financial records broken down into the detail requested in the FOI therefore this information is exempt under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act - Information Not Held. The Council has aimed to embed biodiversity planning into its policies and practices, including the work of its Lands and Parks service, in the Woodlands and Forestry Strategy and the Open Space Strategy. The Council is committed to further strengthening its work to promote biodiversity and is discussing the opportunity for Scottish Natural Heritage to participate in the quality auditing process which evaluated planning applications of a certain scale against the Council's Placemaking Policy. The Council is also preparing its new Local Development Plan which will further embed biodiversity in planning policy.
• Head of Direct Services
  Stephen Cooper:- Overall responsibility for delivery and maintenance of public roads, transportation, harbours, open spaces, burial grounds, waste management, flood alleviation, coastal protection, and fleet, building cleaning and catering support services.
  Tel: 01343 563777