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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent the spread, and ensure large-scale control, of bracken to protect the biodiversity of (1) sites of special scientific interest, and (2) other vulnerable areas.

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

Bracken is a native species, a natural component of many habitats, and supports several scarce and declining animal species. It is not regarded as a key threat to most habitats and species, but in some localities expansion of dense bracken is a threat to lowland heath, grasslands, habitats with scattered trees, scrub woodland and wood pasture. In such places management may be needed to limit the extent of dense bracken.

Countryside Stewardship supports the control of bracken in two principal ways: through a capital grant for chemical control of bracken; and as a supplement for removal, which can be applied for alongside suitable land management options. Controlling the presence or spread of bracken can maintain or restore biodiversity value, including of SSSIs, and help protect archaeological sites.