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1719384

registered interest
date	20/05/2024
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	Environment Protection: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on the Environment Improvement Plan’s objective to secure £500 million of private finance for nature restoration by 2027.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	27016
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government has set a target to mobilise over £500m per year of private finance into nature’s recovery in England by 2027, rising to over £1 billion by 2030. We are making progress towards the target by supporting the development and integrity of nature markets through the British Standards Institution Nature Investment Standards Programme; delivering Biodiversity Net Gain; committing £30 million of investment into a blended finance Big Nature Impact Fund; helping farmers with advice and support on accessing nature markets; and increasing the supply of nature investment projects through the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund.</p><p> </p><p>We recently published an update on progress on our Nature Markets Framework, and we will consult on further policy interventions needed to support the growth of high integrity voluntary carbon and nature markets in the coming months.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 23/05/2024 14:18:10 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1661374

registered interest
date	18/09/2023
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	Environment Protection: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has she made of the potential merits of offering multi-year funding settlements for nature restoration and protection projects.
tabling member constituency	Rother Valley
tabling member printed	Alexander Stafford
uin	200091
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2023 answer text <p>The Department has run and is currently running multiple grant schemes funding nature restoration and protection projects. These include a variety of allocation methods including criteria-based and competed general grants to meet the Government’s objectives. The use of multi-year awards is advisable to provide certainty for multi-year projects but dependent on the nature of the project funded</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison question first answered 16/10/2023 14:38:35 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
tabling member	4866 label Biography information for Alexander Stafford

1589039

registered interest
date	24/02/2023
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Environment Protection: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to update the UK Government Green Financing Framework, published in June 2021, to allow the proceeds of green gilts to be used for nuclear energy projects.
tabling member constituency	Ynys Môn
tabling member printed	Virginia Crosbie
uin	152317
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2023 answer text <p>As set out in the British Energy Security Strategy, nuclear energy is a key part of the UK’s low-carbon energy mix alongside solar, wind and other energy sources. These technologies are important in tackling climate change and diversifying the UK’s supply, contributing to the UK’s energy security and sustainable growth.</p><p> </p><p>The UK Government Green Financing Framework was set in June 2021, with its current exclusion of nuclear energy projects. Any changes to the Framework in the future to include nuclear energy would be transparently published by the Government.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 01/03/2023 15:28:37 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
tabling member	4859 label Biography information for Virginia Crosbie

1586450

registered interest
date	17/02/2023
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	Environment Protection: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of funding provided to local authorities for meeting the targets set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, published on 31 January 2023.
tabling member constituency	Rother Valley
tabling member printed	Alexander Stafford
uin	147252
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2023 answer text <p>The delivery of the Environment Act 2021 statutory targets does not place a specific burden on local authorities but will require a shared endeavour from government, local authorities, business and the individual decisions we all make. Through the Environment Act 2021 we have ensured a robust legal framework to hold current and future governments to account, protecting nature for generations to come.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to engage with local authorities on specific targets and to assess any support they need in their delivery.</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison grouped question UIN 147032 147277 147329 149603 question first answered 23/02/2023 17:35:17 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
tabling member	4866 label Biography information for Alexander Stafford

1586476

registered interest
date	17/02/2023
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	Environment Protection: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding to local authorities for meeting targets set out in the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	147032
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2023 answer text <p>The delivery of the Environment Act 2021 statutory targets does not place a specific burden on local authorities but will require a shared endeavour from government, local authorities, business and the individual decisions we all make. Through the Environment Act 2021 we have ensured a robust legal framework to hold current and future governments to account, protecting nature for generations to come.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to engage with local authorities on specific targets and to assess any support they need in their delivery.</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison grouped question UIN 147252 147277 147329 149603 question first answered 23/02/2023 17:35:17 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1586503

registered interest
date	17/02/2023
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	Environment Protection: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of funding provided to local authorities for meeting the targets set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, published on 31 January 2023.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Walton
tabling member printed	Dan Carden
uin	147277
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2023 answer text <p>The delivery of the Environment Act 2021 statutory targets does not place a specific burden on local authorities but will require a shared endeavour from government, local authorities, business and the individual decisions we all make. Through the Environment Act 2021 we have ensured a robust legal framework to hold current and future governments to account, protecting nature for generations to come.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to engage with local authorities on specific targets and to assess any support they need in their delivery.</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison grouped question UIN 147032 147252 147329 149603 question first answered 23/02/2023 17:35:17 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
tabling member	4651 label Biography information for Dan Carden

1586609

registered interest
date	17/02/2023
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	Environment Protection: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of funding provided to local authorities for meeting the targets set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, published on 31 January 2023.
tabling member constituency	Edmonton
tabling member printed	Kate Osamor
uin	147329
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2023 answer text <p>The delivery of the Environment Act 2021 statutory targets does not place a specific burden on local authorities but will require a shared endeavour from government, local authorities, business and the individual decisions we all make. Through the Environment Act 2021 we have ensured a robust legal framework to hold current and future governments to account, protecting nature for generations to come.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to engage with local authorities on specific targets and to assess any support they need in their delivery.</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison grouped question UIN 147032 147252 147277 149603 question first answered 23/02/2023 17:35:17 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
tabling member	4515 label Biography information for Kate Osamor

1582718

registered interest
date	01/02/2023
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Environment Protection: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will amend the UK Government Green Financing Framework, published on 30 June 2021, to allow the proceeds of green bonds to finance nuclear energy projects.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	137770
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2023 answer text <p>As set out in the British Energy Security Strategy, nuclear energy is a key part of the UK’s low-carbon energy mix alongside solar, wind and other energy sources. These technologies are important in tackling climate change and diversifying the UK’s supply, contributing to the UK’s energy security and sustainable growth.</p><p> </p><p>We do not rule out the possibility that the Framework may be revised at some point in the future (for example to reflect changing standards in the green bond market or to include Nuclear energy profits) and, if so, we will be transparent about any revisions at that time.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 07/02/2023 16:56:29 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1536800

registered interest
date	27/10/2022
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	Environment Protection: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department has provided for (a) woodland creation, (b) peatland restoration, (c) saltmarsh restoration and (d) other natural carbon solutions in the latest period for which data is available; and through which schemes this funding is delivered.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	72944
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/11/2022 answer text <p>The £750 million Nature for Climate Fund will support peat restoration, woodland creation and management until 2025. Nature for Climate Fund deployment in future years is dependent on analysis of previous year’s performance across projects and workstreams.</p><p> </p><p>For 2022/23 alone we have made:</p><ul><li>Over £25 million available through the England Woodland Creation Offer</li><li>£9.4m of additional funding to support tree nurseries, and development of workforce and skills to support the creation of woodland</li><li>£44.5m NCF funding for Woodland Creation Partnerships and Community Forests</li><li>£7.8 million for a new Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund (WCAF) to build Local Authority capacity to plan new woodlands</li><li>£2 million to support DLUHC’s Levelling Up Parks Fund</li><li>£12.8 million available to the Peatland Restoration Grant Scheme.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Funding is agreed parliament to parliament via spending review periods, so beyond 2025 when the Nature for Climate Fund draws to a close, funding is yet to be agreed and determined.</p><p> </p><p>The £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund is enabling nature recovery across England, from North Northumberland to the tip of Cornwall. Through this funding, we are supporting 159 projects, ranging from new ‘insect pathways’ in our countryside to tree planting projects in deprived urban areas. These projects include woodland creation, peatland restoration and saltmarsh restoration. Round one of the fund ran between 2020-22 and round two is running between 2021-23.</p><p> </p><p>A number of estuarine and coastal habitat restoration initiatives are also underway. The management of the Environment Agency’s Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative, amounting to £90k in 2022-23, is funded through the Water Environment Improvement Fund. ReMeMaRe is working to restore our estuarine and coastal habitats to benefit people and nature.</p><p> </p><p>Natural England is leading a four-year £2.5 million EU-funded LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES project running to October 2023, which aims to restore seagrass and maerl habitat in five Special Areas of Conservation.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, we are also working to increase private investment in nature. The £10 million Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund, which runs to March 2024, is also supporting three projects with almost £300,000 of grants, to explore, develop and then test methodologies to measure and verify the carbon storage potential in saltmarsh habitats. This includes a project to develop a Saltmarsh Carbon code from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison question first answered 02/11/2022 13:00:50 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1435199

registered interest
date	24/02/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Environment Protection: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential role of private finance in supporting nature projects.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	129115
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2022 answer text <p>In October 2021 the Government published <em>Greening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investing</em>. This sets out the Government’s expectation that asset managers, asset owners and their service providers will act as responsible stewards of capital by using information disclosed via the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements to engage with investee companies. The Government has an active and ongoing dialogue with the sector on this.</p><p> </p><p>The Roadmap also includes policies to prevent greenwashing such as the UK Green Taxonomy. This will take an objective and science-based approach to determining which economic activities are environmentally sustainable. To support this, the Government has created a Green Technical Advisory Group to provide independent advice on market, regulatory and scientific considerations.</p><p> </p><p>Last year the UK successfully launched its green financing programme, under which it issues green gilts. Future financing plans for 2022-23, including for the green gilt, will be announced in the usual way in the Debt Management Office’s financing remit at the forthcoming Spring Forecast. In October 2021, the Government launched its first green retail product through NS&amp;I – Green Savings Bonds (GSB). GSB provides savers with the opportunity to contribute towards green projects chosen by the Government, as set out in the Green Finance Framework.</p><p> </p><p>Local authorities have full, independent control over their borrowing choices and are free to issue local climate bonds if they wish. It is for them to determine the most appropriate financing mechanism for their projects. The Government considers current funding options for local authorities to pursue environmental projects to be appropriate, and that existing statutory guidance is sufficient for outlining options for local authorities with regards to financial borrowing. This includes issuing local climate bonds, an option which some local authorities have taken up.</p><p> </p><p>Decarbonisation of the housing stock will be crucial to the UK achieving Net Zero. Home finance can provide the financial means for homeowners and landlords to undertake home energy efficiency improvements. The Government released a consultation in November 2020 on the role mortgage lenders can play in supporting homeowners to improve their home’s energy performance, and recently announced a £10m Green Finance Accelerator programme to support the development of innovative green finance products. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of green finance products on the market, with the release of over thirty green mortgage products in the last two years. The Government will continue to work with mortgage lenders to encourage further development of green mortgage products.</p><p> </p><p>HMG’s 25 Year Environment Plan and Green Finance Strategy are clear that private finance has a key role to play in achieving our environmental ambitions. This is why the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 set an ambitious new target to raise at least £500m in private finance to support nature’s recovery every year by 2027 in England, rising to more than £1bn by 2030. Supported by the Government from its inception, the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) will provide a framework for corporates and financial institutions to report and act on evolving nature-related risks. TNFD will build, consult on and test its framework, which it aims to launch in 2023. As part of its response to the Dasgupta Review, the Government committed up to £3m additional support to the development of the TNFD framework.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 129107 129108 129109 129110 129111 129112 129113 129114 129116 129117 question first answered 04/03/2022 13:30:25 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord