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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase the number of chalk streams designated as (a) Sites of Special Scientific Interest or (b) Special Areas of Conservation.

Chalk streams are an incredible source of national pride. As one of Britain’s most nature- rich habitats, they support some of our rarest wildlife.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) are notified by Natural England (NE) under section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, where land is judged to be of special interest for its wildlife or geology. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is notified as part of that process

Decisions on whether to notify additional stretches of chalk stream as SSSIs are made by NE, based on its expert judgement of the best available scientific evidence, and in line with published SSSI selection guidelines.

Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are designated under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. The Secretary of State must designate sites on the basis of relevant scientific information and by applying the prescribed selection criteria, as published by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.

At present, eight chalk streams have additional protection through SSSI and/or SAC designation; any further designations would proceed only where the scientific evidence shows the selection criteria are met.