Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of clauses 105 and 106 of the Environment Bill on outstanding planning applications with proposed development sites that include a variety of species and natural habitats.

These clauses in the Environment Bill support the Government's increased ambitions for nature and to deliver on our world leading target of halting species decline by 2030. The clauses reflect the importance of furthering the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity and will enable the Secretary of State to introduce regulations which amend the Habitats Regulations as they apply in England. This will provide greater legal certainty and make environmental processes clearer, to help improve the condition of our most important habitats. The Secretary of State may only make regulations under these clauses if they are satisfied that the regulations do not reduce the level of environmental protection provided by the Habitats Regulations. These changes complement MHCLG's commitment to encourage biodiversity net gain through the planning system, as set out in our Planning for the Future White Paper.