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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to promote soil education among planning officers, developers, landowners and the public.

The Government recognises the importance of soil education and promoting the importance of soil health, through sustainable and responsibly managed soil practices.

Defra continues to engage with the industry to disseminate a range of material to support planning officers, farmers and land managers to make informed choices about how to sustainably manage their soil. This includes engaging with the British Society of Soil Science to introduce a soil scientist apprenticeship programme to increase the number of qualified experts to support them.

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by protecting and enhancing sites of geological value and soils. The associated guidance is clear that soil is an essential natural capital asset that provides important ecosystem services. More broadly, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have also established a ‘Planning Capacity & Capability’ programme to develop a wider programme of support, working with partners across the planning sector, to ensure that local planning authorities have the skills and capacity they need.