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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the definition of non-native species in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, how many Species Control Agreements and Species Control Orders have (a) been issued by environmental authorities in England since the Infrastructure Act 2015 came into force and (b) specifically relate to control of Rhododendron ponticum.

There have been no Species Control Agreements or Species Control Orders issued by environmental authorities in England since the Infrastructure Act 2015 came into force and therefore none specifically related to the control of Rhododendron ponticum.

These provisions are used primarily to remove newly arrived invasive non-native species or species that currently have a relatively restricted distribution but have the potential to become more widely spread. In general, it would not be an appropriate use of these powers or an effective use of resources to seek to apply these provisions to invasive non-native species that are already widespread.