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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase the (a) biodiversity (b) native fish stocks (c) native insect populations and (d) native plant populations in UK rivers.

We recognise that rivers are an important national asset forming a key part of our natural environment by providing green and blue corridors along which biodiversity can flourish.

We are committed to recovering nature, including restoring our freshwater habitats, which is why we have now set four legally binding targets for biodiversity in England. By 2030 we have committed to halt the decline in species abundance and by 2042 we aim to reverse species decline; to reduce the risk of species extinction; and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitats.

Action towards these targets will drive essential improvements to our freshwater habitats. The indicator for our species abundance targets includes freshwater invertebrates, which are an indicator of the health of an overall water body, fish species and vascular plants. Wildlife-rich freshwater habitats, including rivers, will also be counted towards our habitats target. Restoration of these habitats will therefore be vital to delivery.

We are taking a broad range of actions to increase the biodiversity of our rivers in England. We will shortly be able to announce successful applicants to our 25-million-pound Species Survival Fund grant scheme, which we launched last year, which will create and restore a range of habitat types, including rivers.

Our Landscape Recovery scheme is aiming to provide over £40 million of funding for 56 projects. Projects under Round 1 are already underway and aiming to restore more than 600 km of rivers, including through the Adur River Restoration project and the Killerton Three Rivers Landscape Recovery project.

We are also rolling out Nature Recovery Projects across the country to create improved and better-connected habitats for wildlife. We have launched 12 landscape-scale projects over the past two years across over 200,000 hectares of habitat. Many of these projects are supporting riverine habitats, for example the Lost Wetlands project in Cheshire is using nature-based solutions to connect wetlands to their rivers, recover ghost ponds and create riverine woodlands.

Regarding fish stocks specifically, the Environment Agency funds projects that have a direct benefit to native fish populations. Fishing rod licence income is invested through the Fisheries Improvement Programme which includes barrier removal and fish passes. In 2022/23 the projects improved 52km of river, protected a further 20km and enhanced 237ha of Stillwater fisheries.