Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Trudy Harrison Excerpts

Monday 18th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Trudy Harrison)]

Yes, Mr Deputy Speaker—you have given me the opportunity to thank you for your hospitality at the wonderful South Lancashire show in your Ribble Valley constituency, which I attended. I know that you have first-hand knowledge of the farming community, because I was able to meet them during my visit.

I start by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for St Ives (Derek Thomas) for securing the debate. It is, of course, disappointing to hear his account, but I thank him for his continuous championing of the environment: this is not the first time that I have had the pleasure of speaking with him about the environmental qualities of Cornwall. I join him in recognising the excellent work of Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Farm Cornwall and the Campaign for Rural England, and I know that the NFU and CLA—along with many others—have also been involved and instrumental in working with my hon. Friend’s local farmers.

Most importantly, I place on record our appreciation of, and gratitude to, the farmers for their dedication and hard work. We are grateful for the unique and specialised knowledge of my hon. Friend’s farmers, who have cared for Penwith moors for some 4,000 years. I understand that the designation of 3,152 hectares of land as an SSSI, including 260 acres of perhaps more intensively farmed land, will have been very difficult. The fact that such a large area of land became of interest to Natural England, and was designated as an SSSI by its board on 28 June, is testament to my hon. Friend’s farming community and their ingrained knowledge—their deep understanding of the soil, the water, the topography, the geology and the flora and fauna, whether that be wild, farmed or native.

I would like to explain to the House part of the process for the designation of sites, and the importance of SSSIs and of our environmental improvement plan. We have committed to protecting 30% of our land and oceans, and creating or restoring 500,000 hectares of land. We need to do so because we need to halt the decline of nature. Sites of special scientific interest are our areas for nature, providing a place within which species can thrive and from which they can disperse into the wider countryside. My hon. Friend has clearly set out his disappointment and that of his constituents about the way in which the process has been undertaken, and I will take great care to review the specific points that he made.

On the point about Natural England having regard only to scientific evidence, and not to the social, cultural or economic implications of such a decision, my hon. Friend is correct in his description of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. I am from a farming family, I live in a farming community in the Lake district, and I have many constituents who farm in upland and lowland areas, often on SSSIs and other protected landscapes, so I have first-hand knowledge of the difficulties involved. It is high time that we looked at how those protections impact the economy and the social and cultural side of farming, and we will be doing just that. If we are to truly halt the decline of nature, we need our farmers to do all they can for environmental stewardship.

As my hon. Friend explained, 70% of our land in this country is farmed. We really need to make sure that our farmers can work hand in glove to provide the high- quality food we have become dependent on, as well as environmental stewardship. I accept his very kind invitation to visit him and, I hope, speak to some of his farmers and environmental groups in St Ives. I will endeavour to get there in the next few weeks to have that conversation.

Natural England has a legal duty to designate any area of land that has been assessed to be of special interest for its wildlife and geology under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. Designations are based on Natural England’s assessment of the scientific evidence and informed by Joint Nature Conservation Committee selection guidelines. The Act means that Natural England can only consider scientific evidence when designating a new SSSI. That is the subject of the conversation I would like to have with my hon. Friend’s farmers. If we do not succeed in enabling farmers to engage in our landmark environmental land management schemes, countryside stewardship, the sustainable farming incentive and landscape recovery—I am delighted that some of my hon. Friend’s farmers were, and still are, looking forward to engaging in that—we will fail on our apex target to improve nature.

To that end, we have accelerated work to tackle on and off-site pressures, from nutrient pollution to invasive species. The EIP sets out across 262 pages—unless, Mr Deputy Speaker, you have the handbag version—all the actions that we are taking in collaboration, especially with farmers, to restore our environment. So much of that will be relevant to SSSIs.

The meeting of the board that confirmed the designation was held in public session—I believe that my hon. Friend attended—to allow objectors and supporters to make their representations in person, and it took place over a full day in my hon. Friend’s St Ives constituency. In response to the public consultation, the site boundaries were amended. I am pleased that, with extra information, some changes were made to the initial designation, as I think he referenced. A five-year plan was agreed to support farmers to transition to a more sustainable farming practice. They farm 70% of our land, and it is due to their management that many of these places are considered special for their beauty and heritage value and their ecological importance.

To protect 30% of our land and water by 2030, to restore or create 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitats, and to increase the tree canopy from 14% to 16.5% are all targets we have published in our EIP. To achieve that we must work with farmers. We want to improve the condition of SSSIs and marine protected areas. Through the scientific community, including Natural England, and supported by environmental land management schemes and other initiatives, I am confident we can do that. But no scientific insight in isolation and no Government policies or indeed financial incentives, public or private, can match the thousands of years of built up, deep, ingrained, inherited, unique knowledge and understanding that only lived experience provides. Perhaps it is a nigh-on indigenous knowledge, and that must be respected.

Question put and agreed to.