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1646549

registered interest
date	21/06/2023
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Nature Conservation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are on track to meet the target of halting the decline of species abundance by 2030; and what steps they are taking to ensure the target is met.
tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
uin	HL8695
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2023 answer text <p>We have set out our plan to deliver on our ambitious 2030 target, along with our other environmental targets, in the revised Environmental Improvement Plan published 31 January 2023. Here we link the different objectives, plans and mechanisms for recovering nature.</p><p> </p><p>We know that to meet our targets we will need large-scale habitat restoration, creation and improved connectivity; to tackle pressures on species including pollution, unsustainable use of resources and climate change; and targeted action to recover specific species.</p><p> </p><p>Our Nature for Climate Fund provides over £750 million for the creation, restoration and management of woodland and peatland habitats. We will also launch a new multi-million pound Species Survival Fund this summer, supporting the creation and restoration of wildlife-rich habitats.</p><p> </p><p>We are ensuring that the design and implementation of our current and future agri-environmental schemes and Environment Act measures such as Biodiversity Net Gain and Local Nature Recovery Strategies support the target by focusing on the habitats we need and key actions to reduce pressures; and by supporting ‘crowding in’ of private investment.</p><p> </p><p>The first round of Landscape Recovery focused on river restoration and species recovery. The 22 successful projects cover over 40,000 hectares and aim to restore nearly 700km of rivers and protect and provide habitat for at least 263 species. The second round was launched on 18 May and focuses on net zero, protected sites and wildlife-rich habitats, which includes rivers, streams, and other freshwater habitats. We will offer up to 25 projects a place on the Landscape Recovery scheme in this round, within the £15 million total project development budget.</p><p> </p><p>In May 2022, we launched five nature recovery projects spanning nearly 100,000 hectares, which will see the creation and restoration of wildlife-rich habitats, corridors and stepping-stones. They will help wildlife populations to move and thrive, provide nature-based solutions, and enable people to enjoy and connect with nature. Natural England plans to launch another six Nature Recovery Projects in 2022/23.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has an explicit duty to ensure long-term targets are met. The Environment Act’s statutory cycle of monitoring, planning and reporting ensures that the Government will take early, regular steps to achieve long-term targets, and is held to account with regular scrutiny from the Office for Environmental Protection and Parliament. Our evaluation framework will provide a level of assurance towards our progress on the targets through adaptive management and regular evaluations and reporting.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 29/06/2023 14:06:58 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	3792 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

1583448

registered interest
date	02/02/2023
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Nature Conservation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their target in their Environmental Impact Plan to "restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat", whether they have considered the advice of the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) that "habitat destruction and degradation could therefore continue in other areas, with negligible positive change overall"; and if so, what estimate they have made of the amount of destruction and degradation that may occur in other areas.
tabling member printed	Lord Foster of Bath
uin	HL5357
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2023 answer text <p>Due to data limitations, we are not currently able to fully account for habitat lost and so we have not been able to set a target for net habitat restoration and creation. In order to ensure as far as possible that new habitat counted under our target is additional, we will only use reporting from live agri-environment scheme agreements, not count ‘compensatory habitat’ such as new habitat created to replace lost habitat as part of Biodiversity Net Gain, and only count ‘wildlife-rich’ habitats. Furthermore, as the target states that we will create ‘in excess of’ 500,000 hectares, this figure does not limit our ambition for action.</p><p> </p><p>To address the data limitations, we are developing an indicator for quantity, quality and connectivity of habitats as part of the Outcome Indicator Framework under the 25 Year Environment Plan. Work to finalise the methodology to allow the assessment of change in habitat quantity over time, at a national scale, is in development.</p><p> </p><p>The Environmental Improvement Plan set out the actions we are taking that will allow us to meet this ambitious target: we are investing more than £750 million in the environment through our Nature for Climate Fund, we have announced a new Species Survival Fund and we have set a target to raise at least £500 million in private finance to support nature’s recovery every year by 2027, rising to more than £1 billion by 2030.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 08/02/2023 18:00:57 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	214 label Biography information for Lord Foster of Bath

1563813

registered interest
date	21/12/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Nature Conservation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding by the United Nations Development Programme that $1.8 trillion in global subsidies are contributing towards the destruction of nature; and what steps they are taking to ensure that none of their (1) domestic, and (2) Official Development Assistance, funding is contributing to the destruction of nature.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL4477
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2023 answer text <p>No assessment has been made of the UNDP findings. All Defra’s ODA programmes focus on addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and poverty reduction. We are replacing the approach under the Common Agricultural Policy and transitioning to our new Environmental Land Management Schemes that is paying farmers for delivering environmental improvements that benefit us all, such as improved water quality, protecting and restoring biodiversity, and improving animal health and welfare.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 30/01/2023 12:01:34 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1551904

registered interest
date	14/12/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Nature Conservation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 13 December (HL4004), whether they have data for those regions that have suffered a decline of (1) plants, and (2) mammals.
tabling member printed	Lord Foster of Bath
uin	HL4286
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2023 answer text <p>Data held by the Government does not contain sufficient levels of detail to allow for a regional assessment an assessment of species decline.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 30/01/2023 12:03:53 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	214 label Biography information for Lord Foster of Bath

1551917

registered interest
date	14/12/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Nature Conservation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will retain the protections for species afforded by the the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.
tabling member printed	Lord Randall of Uxbridge
uin	HL4299
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/12/2022 answer text <p>My department is carefully considering the retained EU law (REUL) caught by the sunset clause in the REUL Bill, which will include the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (the Habitats Regulations). In reviewing retained EU law, Defra’s aim is to ensure that environmental law is fit for purpose and able to drive improved environmental outcomes, whilst also ensuring regulators can deliver efficiently. This will ensure the UK regulatory framework is appropriate and tailored to the UK. The Government has been clear that any changes to REUL will not have the effect of reducing the levels of environmental protection.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 22/12/2022 11:57:09 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	209 label Biography information for Lord Randall of Uxbridge

1548271

registered interest
date	05/12/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Nature Conservation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Environment Agency report Working with nature, published in July, which stated that "a quarter of mammals in England and almost a fifth of UK plants" are "threatened with extinction", whether they will list those counties that have suffered the worst declines of those species.
tabling member printed	Lord Foster of Bath
uin	HL4004
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2022 answer text <p>Data held by Government does not contain sufficient levels of detail to allow for an assessment of species decline at county level.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 13/12/2022 17:24:14 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	214 label Biography information for Lord Foster of Bath

1548272

registered interest
date	05/12/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Nature Conservation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, what was the annual rate of species decline in England in each year between 2010 and 2022.
tabling member printed	Lord Foster of Bath
uin	HL4005
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2022 answer text <p>Defra’s indicator of species abundance tracks changes in the relative abundance of widespread and priority species in England, using data for 670 terrestrial animal species in England. Based on available data, the trend in the indicator shows a decline in species abundance of 2.8% per year on average between 2012 and 2018.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 13/12/2022 17:20:56 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	214 label Biography information for Lord Foster of Bath

1404187

registered interest
date	18/01/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Nature Conservation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Wildlife and Countryside Link’s estimates of the resources required for successful implementation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
tabling member printed	Baroness Parminter
uin	HL5504
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2022 answer text <p>The Government has committed to funding all new burdens on Local Authorities arising from the Environment Act. This includes those relating to the preparation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs). We have considered Wildlife and Countryside Link’s estimates, alongside the feedback from the 5 LNRS pilots that finished in May 2021.</p><p>Following the spending review settlement, Defra is working through spending plans for the next three years, including by working closely with local Government organisations to determine the level of additional capacity required to implement the Act effectively.</p><p>Defra will share further details of the resources that will be made available for implementing Local Nature Recovery Strategies in the coming months.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 01/02/2022 17:23:10 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	4178 label Biography information for Baroness Parminter

1366063

registered interest
date	03/11/2021
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Nature Conservation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply from Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 21 June 2021 (HL Deb, col 116), what progress they have made in identifying how they will objectively measure their performance in improving access to nature.
tabling member printed	Lord Moynihan
uin	HL3687
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2021 answer text <p>As set out in the response given by My Rt Hon Friend, Lord Goldsmith, the Government recognises the current evidence demonstrating the benefits of engaging with nature for people’s physical and mental health and the benefits a long-term target would have.</p><p> </p><p>However, further evidence is needed to support the establishment of any such target. Initial scoping work has already been undertaken on possible metrics, but further development is needed. This work is ongoing.</p><p> </p><p>Natural England’s England-wide map of green infrastructure will be launched in December as part of the emerging National Framework of Green Infrastructure Standards. This includes mapping of accessible natural greenspace which will help identify priorities for creation and enhancement, including to address inequalities in access to greenspace.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 17/11/2021 15:17:21 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	924 label Biography information for Lord Moynihan