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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the future funding arrangements will be for the National Wildlife Crime Unit; and whether that funding will be for 12 months or on a longer term basis.

Since 2016, Defra and the Home Office have committed £300,000 a year to fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). This contribution has been continued into the financial year 2021/22. The NWCU's other funding partners, the Scottish Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and the National Police Chiefs Council, have similarly undertaken to maintain their contributions through 2021/22. Decisions on the government's future funding of the NWCU will be taken as part of the next Spending Review.