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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which measures required under the Nature Restoration Fund take agricultural land out of food production.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises that food security is national security and is committed to safeguarding the most productive agricultural land to maintain long-term food production.

The Nature Restoration Fund will offer opportunities for farming and land management businesses to diversify their business revenue through the provision of conservation measures.

The impact on agricultural land use and management will depend on the nature of the environmental service they will be paid to provide as part of a given Environmental Delivery Plan (EDP). Natural England already considers the impact of its activities on agriculture, for example, when designing mitigation measures, the existing Nutrient Mitigation Scheme seeks to avoid the best and most versatile agricultural land. We expect Natural England to apply this approach to EDPs.

By shifting to a strategic approach, we can leverage economies of scale across an EDP and reduce the need for piecemeal or disjointed mitigations secured by individual development projects. This will ensure every pound spent helps deliver our environmental goals.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to adopt a fair system of allocation regarding the rolling out of (1) the electric vehicle charging network and (2) the upgrading of electricity grid infrastructure to ensure that urban areas are not prioritised over rural areas.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Government’s £381m Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund allocated capital and resource funding across all higher tier local authorities (LAs) in England, to ensure equitable chargepoint rollout across the country. Funding allocations were determined through an assessment of LA need, including the level of rurality, which meant LAs in rural areas were allocated additional funding compared to urban ones. This builds on rollout to date, with the number of publicly available charging devices in rural areas of England increasing by 45% in 2024.

The Government works with Ofgem to ensure grid investment supports all communities, including remote rural areas. Ofgem has allocated £22 billion for network upgrades under the current electricity distribution price control (2023–2028). The next distribution price control (ED3 for 2028–2033) will require distribution network operators to produce long-term regional network plans, informed by Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESPs).

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to bring forward the date of launching the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme so that businesses facing problems with energy costs can benefit before 2027.

Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the importance of action to tackle high energy costs for businesses. The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) will exempt eligible businesses from indirect costs of the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs and the Capacity Market. Implementation timelines for BICS are determined by the operating cycles of those three schemes. April 2027 is therefore the earliest that BICS can feasibly be delivered.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing for the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Services to formulate a single national secure parking standard.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

There are no current plans for the Government to support or endorse a secure parking standard.

The Department for Transport established a Task and Finish Group (TFG) on HGV Facilities which reported in January 2025. This 12-month, industry-led forum was focussed on industry actions to improve capacity for safe and secure HGV parking and driving industry adoption of existing HGV parking Standards. NaVCIS was an active member of the TFG.

There are three HGV parking standards currently available:

• Police Crime Prevention Initiative’s Park Mark Freight
• Transport Asset Protection Association’s Parking Security Requirements, and the
• EU’s Safe and Secure Truck Parking Areas.

The TFG explored whether an additional parking standard was needed but concluded that this was not required.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to support the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Services to help improve police data and to strengthen driver confidence in reporting crimes.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime. We are working with the automotive industry and police, to ensure the strongest response possible. NaVCIS is a national policing unit funded by industry, including finance and leasing companies, insurers and hauliers, to provide dedicated specialist intelligence. We have regular discussions with key partners, including Opal, the police’s national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime, and NaVCIS about tackling organised vehicle crime. Whilst the Government does not fund NaVCIS, we provided £275,000 this year to law enforcement partners to help support enforcement at the ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad, including additional staff and specialist equipment. It is important that drivers report incidents to the police. We expect that all reported crimes should be taken seriously, and where appropriate, investigated by the police and taken through the courts.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which measures funded by the nature restoration levy would take agricultural land out of food production.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises that food security is national security and is committed to safeguarding the most productive agricultural land to maintain long-term food production. Farms also play a leading role in protecting nature and delivering environmental benefits, with nature markets an increasingly important source of income for farmers and land managers.

The impact of the Nature Restoration Fund on agricultural land will depend on the individual Environmental Delivery Plan and the conservation measures identified to address the impact of development. Natural England already considers the impact of its activities on agriculture. For example, when designing mitigation measures, the existing Nutrient Mitigation Scheme seeks to avoid the best and most versatile agricultural land. We expect Natural England to apply this approach to Environmental Delivery Plans.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what specific measures funded by the nature restoration levy will be mandatory for farms.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The conservation measures funded through the Nature Restoration Fund will depend on the specific Environmental Delivery Plan and the nature of the impact which the Environmental Delivery Plan seeks to address.

Natural England will look to collaborate with farmers as conservation measure providers, making use of their knowledge and experience to deliver for nature. It will be for farmers to decide whether to provide conservation measures on their land. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill does not provide Natural England with powers to mandate particular management approaches on farms.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accessibility of funding from the nature restoration levy to (1) environmental and conservation groups and (2) individual farms.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We expect Natural England to deliver conservation measures funded by the Nature Restoration Fund, either directly or indirectly, through a range of organisations including environmental and conservation groups and farmers. At Committee Stage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill in the House of Lords, the government committed to publish guidance to Natural England, part of which will focus on the role of the private and third sectors in Environmental Delivery Plan development and delivery. This guidance will follow Royal Assent of the Bill and the passage of related regulations in 2026.