Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the Protected Landscapes duty will be maintained and strengthened.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Protected Landscapes duty is intended to facilitate better outcomes for England’s Protected Landscapes by ensuring relevant authorities ‘seek to further’ their statutory purposes in decision-making. Building on guidance published in December 2024, this Government intends to retain and amend the duty, to provide clearer direction on how it should be implemented.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to minimise risks potentially leading to delays in implementing interim targets for (1) assessing, and (2) improving, the condition of England’s Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra published a delivery plan for the interim protected sites target alongside the revised Environmental Improvement Plan published in December 2025. The delivery plan includes a wide range of actions, to 1) assess and 2) improve the condition of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
The 50% of actions on track interim target will actively help improve the condition of SSSIs. Natural England (NE) carries out condition assessments of SSSI features to inform these actions. For the actions to count as being ‘on track’, the feature needs to have an up-to-date assessment and needs an agreed action plan to be underway.
To strengthen delivery Defra now chairs the Major Landowners Group to help drive collective effort. Defra tracks delivery through regular updates from NE and the Environmental Improvement Plan Annual Progress Report. Defra will review the delivery plan and update it as policy and evidence evolve to ensure effective delivery.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement interim targets for (1) assessing, and (2) improving, the condition of England’s Sites of Specific Scientific Interest.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra published a delivery plan for the interim protected sites target alongside the revised Environmental Improvement Plan published in December 2025. The delivery plan includes a wide range of actions, to 1) assess and 2) improve the condition of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
The 50% of actions on track interim target will actively help improve the condition of SSSIs. Natural England (NE) carries out condition assessments of SSSI features to inform these actions. For the actions to count as being ‘on track’, the feature needs to have an up-to-date assessment and needs an agreed action plan to be underway.
To strengthen delivery Defra now chairs the Major Landowners Group to help drive collective effort. Defra tracks delivery through regular updates from NE and the Environmental Improvement Plan Annual Progress Report. Defra will review the delivery plan and update it as policy and evidence evolve to ensure effective delivery.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to publish their 30by30 delivery plan.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to protecting 30% of land and sea in the UK by 2030 (30by30). Defra officials are developing a 30by30 Delivery Plan for land and inland water areas, which will set out how we will lead, support, and inspire action across England to deliver this vision. Defra will publish the 30by30 Delivery Plan this Summer.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when applications for funding from the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund will reopen.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No date has yet been confirmed for the next funding round of the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund. We will provide an update in due course, and information will be published on the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund website once future rounds are scheduled to open. Defra remains firmly committed to global efforts to address drivers of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss, including environmental crimes such as the illegal wildlife trade.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase funding for the Biodiversity Challenge Funds.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has an official development assistance (ODA) allocation of £115 million per year from 2026-2027 until 2028‑29. Defra will use a significant portion of this to continue to support the Biodiversity Challenge Funds. A new round of the Darwin Initiative should launch in May, and IWT Challenge Fund and Darwin Plus will be sharing updates in due course.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria were used to determine which of the regions that were in receipt of the Biodiverse Landscapes Fund will not receive future funding.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Following the decision to reduce UK ODA to fund an increase in defence spending and Defra receiving a reduced ODA budget in SR25 the criteria used to determine which Biodiverse Landscapes Fund regions would not receive future funding primarily focused on project performance and delivery.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to encourage prospective applicants to apply for funding in round 32 of the Darwin Initiative when it launches.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In late 2025, Defra informed prospective applicants – through the Darwin’s Initiative’s mailing lists, website and social media channels – that it expects to launch Round 32 of the Darwin Initiative in May 2026. Defra is now finalising the details for this round. When the call for applications opens, Defra will promote it across all of the Darwin Initiative’s communications channels; encourage UK Embassies and High Commissions in eligible countries to promote the opportunity to their in‑country networks; and run a webinar for prospective applicants.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to report to Parliament annually about species reintroduction projects underway in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
There are no plans to report to Parliament annually about species reintroductions projects underway in the UK. In the Environmental Improvement Plan, Defra has committed to provide opportunities for conservation translocations and reintroductions of native species where benefits to the environment and people are clear.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential to reintroduce previously native animals to the UK.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the Environmental Improvement Plan [see attached], Defra committed to support conservation translocations and reintroductions of native species where benefits to the environment and people are clear. This broad policy work can include extensive work, such as by Defra and Natural England on beaver reintroductions to shape the framework for wild releases. However, most projects are delivered by external organisations and landowners, including in collaboration with our arms-length bodies.
To support best practice, Defra has published the Code for Reintroductions and other Conservation Translocations in England [see attached]. The Code sets clear expectations for projects, including demonstrating a conservation need, assessing feasibility and risks, securing permissions and meeting legal requirements, and ensuring appropriate release, monitoring and advice from Natural England where needed.
Defra continues to support the England Species Reintroduction Taskforce in their provision of evidence-led advice and guidance on existing and potential species conservation translocations in England. Current projects include clarifying the contribution of conservation translocations to species recovery targets and developing a framework to inform decisions on conservation reintroductions.