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1673481

registered interest
date	28/11/2023
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason he plans that the public consultation on the definition of irreplaceable habitats and principles for compensation for use in the Biodiversity Net Gain system due to come into force from January 2024 will be launched in the second half of 2024.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	4118
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2023 answer text <p>Biodiversity net gain will become mandatory for most major new development from January 2024, for small sites from April 2024 and for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects from 2025. When mandatory biodiversity net gain comes into force, the list of irreplaceable habitat for biodiversity net gain purposes will broadly mirror the existing list within planning policy.</p><p> </p><p>The consultation will launch in the second half of 2024 to allow stakeholders time to adapt to the new mandatory requirement and evidence to be gathered from the early phase of implementation, as well as to allow Defra time to consider the impact of any new list or definition on wider planning policy.</p><p> </p><p>We have published the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-biodiversity-gain-requirements-irreplaceable-habitat-regulations-2024" target="_blank">draft secondary regulations on irreplaceable habitat</a>.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 06/12/2023 15:24:44 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1672609

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the speech entitled Environment Secretary speech on 25 Year Environment Plan progress, published on 19 July 2023, what the geographical location is of the over a quarter of a million hectares of priority habitats that have been created and restored since 2010; what is the type of those habitats; and what proportion of those habitats are in a favourable condition.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	3457
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2023 answer text <p>The figure that over a quarter of a million hectares of priority habitat have been created or restored since 2010 is reflective of action taken towards target 1B (an increase in the overall extent of priority habitats by at least 200,000 ha by 2020) in Biodiversity 2020 (the Government’s biodiversity strategy for England up to 2020, published in 2011). This activity was not recorded in a spatial way, but this is something we are looking to change with reporting towards the Environment Act target to restore or create over 500,000 hectares of wildlife rich habitat outside of protected sites by 2042.</p><p> </p><p>In the <a href="https://consult.defra.gov.uk/natural-environment-policy/consultation-on-environmental-targets/supporting_documents/Biodiversity%20terrestrial%20and%20freshwater%20targets%20%20Detailed%20evidence%20report.pdf#:~:text=The%20Environment%20Act%202021%20mandates%20that%20at%20least,Species%20Extinction%20Risk%2C%20Wider%20Habitats%20and%20Protected%20Sites." target="_blank">evidence report</a> for the Environment Act biodiversity targets, on page 26, we published a breakdown of habitat created and restored between 2011 and 2019. Although this does not cover the whole time period referenced, it is indicative of the general split between habitat types created and restored.</p><p> </p><p>Our best data on the location of priority habitat is the <a href="https://naturalengland-defra.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/Defra::priority-habitat-inventory-central-england/about" target="_blank">Priority Habitat Inventory</a>. This is a spatial data set that shows where priority habitat has been recorded. Habitat must be of a sufficient quality to be considered priority habitat. Habitat is added or removed from the inventory as evidence on gains and losses become available.</p><p> </p><p>Indicator 2a in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/england-biodiversity-indicators" target="_blank">England Biodiversity Indicators</a> provides more information about the condition of priority habitats in England. The indicator outlines the percentage area of priority habitats under several condition categories. Detail on how condition is assessed is given in the background section. The D1 outcome indicator of the 25 Year Environment Plan is undergoing further development and in time will describe the quantity, quality and connectivity of all major habitats across England; priority habitats would be included within this wider picture, although not at a disaggregated level.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 01/12/2023 16:53:16 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1472426

registered interest
date	22/06/2022
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to hold a public consultation on its response to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee's 7th Quinquennial Review recommendations on species protection.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	23261
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2022 answer text <p>JNCC’s seventh Quinquennial Review report, submitted to the Government on 19 April, provides the Secretary of State with independent scientific advice on proposed changes to Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. We will consider the recommendations carefully and the Government’s proposed approach, including any plans for consultation, before aiming to publish JNCC’s advice later this year. No decisions have yet been made.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 01/07/2022 14:03:15 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1387028

registered interest
date	10/12/2021
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the (a) upfront and (b) ongoing costs required to ensure that all Local Nature Recovery Strategies are delivered fully.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	90855
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2021 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.</p><p>As set out in our consultation, <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fconsult.defra.gov.uk%2Fland-use%2Flocal-nature-recovery-strategies%2F&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C1b7103882788402b5b3108d9c23c9eca%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C637754387897635242%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=x9yMsHvc0UxixkUHiBqzJuFjqylMpOnHO%2BdnDwmoh4k%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank"><em>Local Nature Recovery Strategies: how to prepare and what to include</em> </a>, which is now closed, Local Nature Recovery Strategies are intended to inform a number of policy areas and will therefore be delivered through a variety of mechanisms operating in a complementary way. These could include mandatory biodiversity net gain, environmental land management schemes, the strengthened NERC duty on public bodies; and use by local planning authorities, for example in informing the preparation of local plans.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 20/12/2021 11:46:01 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1387029

registered interest
date	10/12/2021
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the (a) personnel and (b) skills required by local authorities to (i) develop and (ii) implement Local Nature Recovery Strategies; and how many local authorities have access to those resources as of 10 December 2021.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	90856
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2021 answer text <p>We will shortly be appointing responsible authorities to lead the preparation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies. We envisage around fifty LNRS areas at roughly county scale, covering England with no gaps or overlaps.</p><p>Our five LNRS pilots in Northumberland, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Buckinghamshire and Cornwall gave us considerable insight into capacity needs which we have published in a <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Flocal-nature-recovery-strategy-pilots-lessons-learned&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C5f23d0813c87499085e808d9c39b2ea5%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C637755893537201207%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=KSQCdRHNlDsKwb9jWRKz3I99lgkOTqSQImSAD0Cwlzw%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">lessons learned report</a>. One of the central lessons was that capacity and skills needs will be different between responsible authorities depending on local circumstances like geography or administrative set up.</p><p>Following the completion of our business planning process we will bring forward proposals on how we intend to support responsible authorities to prepare LNRSs.</p><p>Local Nature Recovery Strategies are intended to inform a number of policy areas and will therefore be delivered through a variety of mechanisms operating in a complementary way. These could include mandatory biodiversity net gain, environmental land management schemes, the strengthened NERC duty on public bodies; and use by local planning authorities, for example in informing the preparation of local plans.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 20/12/2021 11:42:10 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1358015

registered interest
date	23/09/2021
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Nature Conservation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department plans to take to help deliver the Government’s target to halt the decline in species by 2030.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	53864
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2021 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) long established SSSI management programme supports the conservation of a wide a range of species that are either legally protected or a priority for conservation management. Our species conservation work also takes place outside of SSSIs with the majority of the activity funded from the DIO Conservation Stewardship Fund. Through this fund the MOD has directly invested in the conservation of habitats and species. Linked programmes and initiatives are run by our specialist natural environment teams and conservation volunteers and are also supported by MOD volunteers. These volunteers work as part of a network of site-level Conservation Groups which enable local naturalists and organisations to undertake surveys across defence sites and contribute to species conservation initiatives.</p><p> </p><p>MOD also works closely with Statutory Bodies and Non-Governmental Organisations to identify opportunities for species conservation (e.g. Back From the Brink - Dorset Heathland Heart, Wildfowl and Wetland Trust Curlew Headstarting). Site level opportunities for species conservation are captured in an Integrated Rural Management Plan to ensure species conservation is integrated with military use and other land uses (e.g. public access, forestry and our agricultural tenanted estate).</p><p> </p><p>There are numerous examples of targeted species conservation projects across the estate (e.g. Wessex Stone Curlew project). For more information and also a focus on conservation groups work I would refer the hon. Member to Sanctuary magazine which is available on the GOV.UK website.</p> answering member constituency Horsham answering member printed Jeremy Quin question first answered 18/10/2021 11:54:49 answering member 4507 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Quin
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1328248

registered interest
date	26/05/2021
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that nature recovery opportunities identified by Local Nature Recovery Strategies can be delivered on the ground.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	7783
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2021 answer text <p>Local Nature Recovery Strategies will be delivered in several ways, including through biodiversity net gain and the strengthened biodiversity duty introduced in the Environment Bill. Future schemes that reward farmers and other land managers for producing environmental benefits, including Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery, will also be key mechanisms for delivering the opportunities for nature recovery identified in the Local Nature Recovery Strategies.</p><p> </p><p>Local Nature Recovery Strategies have been piloted in five areas across England. They have tested how Local Nature Recovery Strategies and environmental land management priorities can be developed concurrently, maximising the benefit for the environment and people.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 11/06/2021 12:18:13 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1249745

registered interest
date	09/11/2020
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on job creation of investment in nature restoration in the UK; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	113056
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>The department considers a range of potential impacts of its policies relating to the natural environment, including the anticipated economic impacts, on a case by case basis.</p><p> </p><p>We recently launched the Green Recovery Challenge Fund to invest in a range of nature projects across England as part of our green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has now confirmed that it will double the size of the fund by making an additional £40 million available. This could create and retain thousands of jobs, depending on the projects chosen.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 17/11/2020 13:01:06 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas