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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it remains her policy to introduce regulations that would exempt development sites measuring 0.2 hectares or less from the mandatory requirement to deliver a minimum 10 per cent Biodiversity Net Gain on 31st July 2026.

As announced on 15th April 2026 in the Government’s response to the consultation on Improving Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) for minor, medium and brownfield development, government will introduce a new 0.2 hectare area based exemption so that developments under this size threshold will not be subject to BNG.

Defra will bring forward secondary legislation in due course.