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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including priority grassland habitats in the list of Irreplaceable Habitats for biodiversity net gain.

Irreplaceable habitat includes some of England’s most ecologically valuable terrestrial and intertidal habitats.

The list of irreplaceable habitats in the biodiversity net gain regulations broadly mirrors the non-exhaustive list of examples of irreplaceable habitat in the National Planning Policy Framework. Defra will provide an update on irreplaceable habitat in due course.

In the meantime, we are gathering evidence to inform whether an updated list would offer welcome additional protection to these important habitats, whilst aligning with wider Government objectives for house building and growth.