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 press release published 28 September 2020 entitled PM commits to protect 30% of UK land in boost for biodiversity, what percentage of (a) land and (b) sea is currently protected.

The UK Government is committed to protecting 30% of land and sea in the UK by 2030 (30by30). On land, 28% of the UK and 26% of England is currently designated as a protected area. We recognise, however, that many of these areas are not delivering for nature as they could. We consulted on our approach to 30by30 in the Nature Recovery Green Paper, which closed in May 2022. We are now in the process of analysing responses and will publish a Government response on conclusion of this exercise.

Nearly 8.3% of the global ocean is now protected. We have established a comprehensive network of Marine Protected Areas covering 40% of English waters, and we are now focusing on making sure they are properly protected.