ENVIRONMENTAL groups today demanded a meeting with the Scottish government after it slashed £5 million from a fund that aimed to restore nature and combat climate change.

Twelve organisations, including the heads of Royal Zoological Society Scotland (RZSS), RSPB Scotland, WWF Scotland, and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, signed a letter to acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin.

It said there was a “high degree of concern” over the impact of the cut, which the organisations had only learnt about through media reports.

The RZSS said the Nature Restoration Fund had been a “lifeline for projects across the country to help tackle biodiversity loss for a relatively modest outlay.”

A Scottish government spokesman said the funding had been redirected to fund local government pay rises, but that it “will be replaced in future years.”

He said: “We have been clear that we are taking on significant additional financial pressure to fund the local government pay offer, and the finance secretary [Shona Robison] has been clear that painful choices have had to be made.”