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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the level of funding needs for marine protected areas (MPAs) in British waters in respect of (a) appropriate habitat and condition monitoring and (b) enforcement of bylaw-protected components of MPAs.

Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee are responsible for advising and reporting, as appropriate, on the condition of features designated in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in waters for which the Secretary of State is responsible. Monitoring of MPAs is carried out as part of their statutory duty. The budgets provided by Government to Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee are allocated across a number of key work priorities, including MPA reporting and assessment. Responsibility for MPA enforcement rests with the appropriate regulatory bodies. Allocations of funding to enforcement activities are set out in respective corporate plans. The level of funding in future years will be finalised once budgets are confirmed.