Found: Information (Ethnicity) Bill [HL] Commercial Organisation and Public Authorities Duty (Human Rights and Environment

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that smallholder cocoa farmers will not be faced with additional costs when the deforestation requirements of the Environment Bill 2021 come into force.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK recognises the importance of promoting sustainable trade and development alongside action to prevent deforestation. We will continue working with producer countries to ensure that their views inform the Government’s delivery of the forthcoming Forest Risk Commodities scheme, including in respect of smallholder farmers of cocoa and other commodities.  The UK will also provide support to help countries to adapt to the new requirements, and benefit from the opportunities which this presents to increase trade in legally-produced commodities. This includes funding a new ten-year £500m phase of the UK’s Investments in Forests and Sustainable Land Use programme, which work with the private sector to mobilise investment into legal and sustainable commodity production; and provide support to smallholder farmers and poor rural communities who are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The UK is committed to scaling up this work in future.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the debate that took place in the House of Lords on 8 September 2021 on the Environment Bill, column 867HL and the Answer of 4 January 2023 to Question HL4404 on Soil, for what reason his Department has not published a soil health action plan.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The policies the Government had intended to put in a soil health action plan for England were included in the 2023 Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP). The Government is required under the Environment Act 2021 to report on EIP commitments in the Annual Progress Report, which is independently monitored by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP). The next report is due to be published by July 2024.

Found: condition .32 Statutory targets related to the strategy will be introduced via the upcoming Natural Environment

Found: Information (Ethnicity) Bill [HL] Commercial Organisation and Public Authorities Duty (Human Rights and Environment

Found: October 2019 Environment Bill introduced to Parliament.

Found: We are implementing our 25-year Environment Plan , taking our landmark Environment Bill through Parliament

Found: The establishment of the OEP is central to the Environment Bill , ensuring our domestic environmental

Found: consultation relates solely to some limited proposals for provisions to be included in the Natural Environment

Found: reform bill, Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill, forestry grants, the proposed natural environment

Found: reform bill, Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill, forestry grants, the proposed natural environment

Found: Scheme & Waste Issues • Zero Waste Scotland • Nature Recovery Targets (including Natural Environment

Found: Finally, a future Natural Environment Bill must provide legal back -up for commitments made in the strategy

Found: It also critically depends on the Natural Environment Bill in 2024 and how, in particular, legally binding

Found: : 22/12/2023 SCOTLAND’S STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR BIODIVERSITY Ahead of next year’s Natural Environment

Found: To achieve the targets that will come through the Natural Environment Bill, and for the Agriculture

Found: of nature in Scotland’ sets out robust proposals for nature targets to be included in the Natural Environment

Found: HPMAs, what is propose d in the current Biodiversity Strategy (National Park Act amendments, Natural Environment

Found: there is much detail yet to follow, including the Accountability Framework in the proposed Natural Environment

Found: recovery plans, climate change plans, upcoming land use and agriculture targets, as well as the Natural Environment

Found: Rebekah emphasi sed the need to mainstream these messages across policies like the Natural Environment

Found: which will set out the actions we need to take to achieve that vision; and • The proposed Natural Environment

Found: outcomes; Part 2 is the delivery plan which details how we will get there; and Part 3 is the Natural Environment

Found: • We have committed to introduce a Natural Environment Bill.

Found: • Deer will be included in the Natural Environment Bill and changes to wider deer legislation will

Found: Deer will be included in the Natural Environment Bill. The Deer (Firearms etc.)

Found: investment into nature recovery, in line with the Scottish Government’s Biodiversity Strategy and Natural Environment

Found: supported by a framework for statutory nature restoration targets which will be set out in a new Natural Environment

Found: success: introducing mechanisms for mainstreaming biodiversity across SG policies (e.g. via Natural Environment

Found: Landmark Environment Bill strengthened to halt biodiversity loss by 2030 . Defra.

Found: We will lay the groundwork for the introduction of statutory targets and the Natural Environment Bill

Found: linked legislation of the: • Good Food Nation Bill (recently passed); • Land Reform Bill; • Nature Environment

Found: • A Natural Environment bill to be introduced to parliament next year will include powers to establish

Found: Natural Environment Bill • The Scottish Government is committed to introducing a Natural Environment

Found: why this summer we will be setting out Scotland's biodiversity framework and plans for a Natural Environment

Found: timelines for the issuing the consultation and expected parliamentary timing for the wider Natural Environment

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to align with the EU's Nature Restoration Law.

Answered by Slater, Lorna - Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity

Scotland and the EU share a high ambition for nature, and are both putting in place the actions required to meet the targets set out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agreed in December 2022. The EU’s provisional agreement on nature restoration seeks to restore 20% of EU’s land and sea.

Found: protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030 ('30 by30’) The Strategy is expected to be followed by a Natural Environment

Found: Protection from Seizure) Bill; Economic Crime (T ransparency and Enforcement) Bill; Elections Bill; Environment

Found: •A natural environment bill. •A revised Climate Change Plan (must be in place by March 2025).

Found: Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill; Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill; Environment

Found: Bill and next Biodiversity strategy .

Found: The Committee notes the UK Environment Bill, as introduced, requires the UK Government to lay a report

Found: An amendment to the UK Environment Bill undergoing scrutiny in the UK Parliament acknowledges this in

Found: TheUK Environment Bill sets out shared delegated powers to regulate on producer responsibility and resource

Found: This is similar to the approach taken to some areas of post-EU exit regulation in the UK Environment

Found: executively devolved powers, or where UK Ministers act in devolved areas e.g. using powers in the UK Environment

Found: can be found in the SPICe briefings, Environmental Governance in Scotland after EU Exit and The UK Environment

Found: LCMs are also lodged for the Environment Bill , the Immigration and Social Security Co- ordination (EU

Found: Arrangements elsewhere in the UK are also under development, including through the UK Environment Bill

Found: Parliament ____________________________________ 20 ECCLR committee report on legislative consent for the UK Environment

Found: The UK Environment Bill

Found: The UK Government published the Environment Bill on 30 January 2020, the reintroduction of a UK Government

Found: In the meantime, the Queen’ s Speech of December 2019 announced the introduction of an Environment Bill

Found: As things stand, this Bill is opaque about how the forthcoming environment Bill will protect our marine

Open Consultation: Meeting our '30 by 30' biodiversity commitment on terrestrial and freshwater sites: consultation on legislative proposals

Found: Plans which will set out the actions we need to take to achieve that vision; andThe proposed Natural Environment

Closed Consultation: Tackling the Nature Emergency: Consultation on Scotland’s Strategic Framework for Biodiversity

Found: Bill in the current parliament.

Closed Consultation: Scottish Biodiversity Strategy 2022

Found: will lead into the  development of rolling delivery plans and, through the introduction of a Natural Environment