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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has spent on the protection of hedgehogs since 2019.

Defra has not provided funding specifically for hedgehog protection. However, the Government is committed to taking further action to conserve and recover threatened native species such as the hedgehog. In England, we have set four legally binding targets: to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030; then to reverse declines by 2042; to reduce the risk of species extinction by 2042; and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, also by 2042. We have set out our plan to deliver on these ambitious targets, along with our other environmental targets, in the revised Environmental Improvement Plan.

The Environment Act 2021 introduced several policies, such as Biodiversity Net Gain, Local Nature Recovery Strategies and a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities, which will work together to support the creation and restoration of habitat that will benefit our native species. In addition, our environmental land management schemes will provide farmers, foresters and other land managers with financial support for a wide range of measures that will deliver positive benefits for species to include the hedgehog. Hedgerows are an important habitat for hedgehogs. As well as the Countryside Stewardship and Sustainable Farming Incentive schemes, which are funding the creation and restoration of hedgerows, the Environmental Improvement Plan has a commitment to support farmers to create or restore at least 30,000 miles of hedgerows by 2037, increasing to 45,000 miles by 2050.

In addition, Natural England is funding a three-year monitoring pilot started in 2023 through its Species Recovery Programme. This will invest over £300k in determining the population of this vulnerable and much-loved species, which is a vital part of understanding how we save it.