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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government has made an environmental impact assessment of the use of plastic grass in (a) residential and (b) commercial settings.

The Government has not made an ecological assessment of the impact of the use of plastic grass in residential or commercial settings. We do however recognise that, in itself, artificial grass has no value for wildlife. Its installation can have negative impacts on soil health, biodiversity and drainage for flood prevention or alleviation if installed in place of natural earth or more positive measures such as planting flowers or trees or providing natural water features.