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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what lessons Natural England has drawn from the performance of its nutrient mitigation scheme when designing its Environmental Delivery Plans and its future management of the nature restoration fund.

Natural England's Nutrient Mitigation Scheme (NMS) demonstrates the value of a strategic, catchment-level approach over site-by-site mitigation. Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) will build on this approach with Natural England’s NRF and NMS teams working collaboratively to consider best practices including the value of working with local stakeholders to identify and deliver solutions that have the greatest impact and secure value for money. The Government has committed to returning to Parliament once the first nutrient EDPs are made to provide a statement on initial learnings. EDPs covering other environmental issues will only be made after Parliament has considered that statement.