Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many charges have brought by the Environment Agency with regards to their national criminal investigation into water and sewerage service companies launched on 18 November 2021.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There have been six charges involving two defendant water companies. This includes one conviction and two related acquittals for one defendant, Anglian Water Services Ltd. The other defendant has three charges pending.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many miles of the King Charles III England Coast Path are now fully open to the public.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A total of 2,065 miles of the King Charles III England Coast Path is now open to the public, out of the 2,689 miles submitted to Government. A further 556 miles are currently in the establishment phase, with 78 miles awaiting Government decision.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants are employed through Skilled Worker visas in (1) the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (2) Natural England, and (3) Environment Agency.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not employ any civil servants through Skilled Worker visas as the department is not a sponsoring organisation.
As Natural England (NE) and the Environment Agency (EA) are non‑departmental public bodies (arm’s‑length bodies), they do not employ civil servants.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the geographical boundaries of each air quality agglomeration zone in England.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is divided into 43 zones for air quality assessment. There are 28 agglomeration zones (large urban areas) and 15 non-agglomeration zones. The geographical boundaries of air quality zones and agglomerations in England are set out in the Air Pollution in the UK Report (see attached) and are also made available through the compliance map on the UK-Air website.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many statutory management notices have been issued regarding Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the last three years.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 9 December 2022, Natural England has issued zero Section 28K Management Notices.
The number of pre-requisite Section 28J Management Schemes issued since 2022 is one (issued on 1 July 2024).
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government the (1) number, and (2) value of grants issued from the Conservation and Enhancement Scheme in the last three years.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For the financial years 2023/24 to 2025/26, the number of Conservation Enhancement Scheme (CES) grants issued, and their value is as follows:
Financial Year | New CES issued | Value |
2023/24 | 50 | £796,137 |
2024/25 | 45 | £1,925,180 |
2025/26 | 47 | £1,930,866 |
Total | 142 | £4,652,183 |
Notes:
1) Number issued includes direct land manager agreements and SSSI investigations. The latter establish what work may be required to support actions on SSSIs that may be supported through a subsequent CES agreement with the land manager.
2) Value – this is the total value spent on CES agreements in each year. Some of this value is for multi-year CES agreed in previous years.
3) Figures for 2025/26 are expected end of year figures. However, only around £130k of this is still to be agreed in January 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (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 reasons why the Woodlands for Water project delivered 9 per cent of the target hectares of tree planting.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Woodlands for Water project, funded by Defra and delivered by the Riverscapes Partnership, ran from October 2021 to March 2025. At the end of the project, 288 hectares had been planted, with over 2,200 hectares of sites identified for planting. These are being pursued through other means, including through support from Rivers Trust and progressing planting through the Community Forests where appropriate.
Defra reduced funding to the project in financial year 2024/25 and the project is now closed.
Reasons for planting being below target include particular challenges around riparian planting, which typically involves small land parcels with multiple land managers alongside practical challenges of planting alongside linear features such as rivers.
We are continuing to support riparian planting through the England Woodland Creation Offer, which has stackable supplementary payments for woodlands that improve water quality, reduce the risk of flooding, and riparian buffers that improve water habitat. Our Water Environment Improvement Fund also supports targeted woodland creation for water benefits.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (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 performance of ministers in fulfilling their duties under section 20 of the Environment Act 2021 regarding statements on bills containing new environmental law, and what consideration they have given to creating mechanisms to challenge incorrect or misleading statements.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In making a statement under the Environment Act 2021 Section 20, as with all other statements ministers make to either House, ministers are bound by the Ministerial Code which requires them to provide accurate and truthful information to Parliament.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (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 impact of Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on the UK's natural capital accounts.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) is being legislated under Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. The NRF will provide a more streamlined experience for developers and better outcomes for protected habitats and species.
The benefit of the NRF to the UK’s natural capital accounts will depend upon the specific Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) that are brought forward under its provisions. The requirement for an EDP to meet the overall improvement test before it can be made by the Secretary of State, supported by robust monitoring, reporting, and remediation safeguards, will ensure a positive impact.
An impact assessment for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill was published on 6 May 2025 and may be referred to for further details of the expected outcomes of the Bill.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 29 October 2024 (HC8963), how many local nature recovery strategies they expect to publish before the end of June, and what incentives have been given to local authorities to meet their expected timetable for publication.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Four Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) have already been published with many more expected in the coming months. The current ones are West of England, North Northamptonshire, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly and Isle of Wight.
Defra and Natural England are closely monitoring all remaining LNRS publication timescales. The Minister for Nature has written to all responsible authorities setting out her expectations around timely publication of their LNRS and transition to delivery. Officials are working closely with those few that are expecting to publish after December 2025 to seek assurance that their LNRSs will be published as soon as possible.
LNRSs will support responsible authorities, Defra group and local partners to make more strategic, informed decisions about nature recovery and planning for their area. Defra is in the process of confirming funding for this financial year to support the transition to leading and coordinating delivery of the LNRS for their area.