Nearly £6bn needs to be spend on the rural budget in the UK if nature and climate change objectives are to be met according to a new report. The analysis, jointly commissioned by the RSPB, National Trust and The Wildlife Trusts, provides figures on the level of investment needed in land management to achieve nature and climate objectives across the UK.

The analysis shows the annual UK rural budget needs to nearly double to £5.9bn at least for the next ten years.

While the report looks at the UK as a whole, it also estimates the level of investment required in the different UK countries reflecting the variation in natural assets and farming systems. In Scotland the report suggests annual public investment in the region of £1.5bn to 1.8bn a year which would see Scotland more than double farm funding over the next ten years.