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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect seabird populations from offshore wind turbines.

The Government’s Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement Package’s aim is to support the acceleration of offshore wind consenting, while continuing to protect the marine environment. The package is setting out new approaches to delivering mitigation and compensation for the environmental impacts of offshore wind developments at a strategic level. As part of this, Defra is piloting innovative approaches to mitigation. This includes a turbine blade painting pilot looking at reducing the avian collision risk from offshore wind. Defra is also working collaboratively with Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies, environmental Non-Governmental Organisations, the offshore wind industry across the UK, and Devolved Governments to develop a range of strategic compensation measures for the habitats and species most likely to be affected by offshore wind impacts, including seabirds.