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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what national policy framework governs the protection of hydrologically sensitive Sites of Special Scientific Interest where Environmental Delivery Plans are not in place.

The protection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest, including those that are hydrologically sensitive is governed principally by section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and paragraph 193(b) of the National Planning Policy Framework.