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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to improve the quality of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in National Parks.

Our 25 Year Environment Plan commits to restoring 75% of our one million hectares of land and freshwater in protected sites to favourable condition including in National Parks.

We will continue to provide funding for the positive management of Sites of Special Scientific Interests through our agri-environment schemes. In advance of the introduction of the new Environmental Land Management System, we are using our tests and trials programme as a means to work with farmers, land managers and stakeholders, including the National Parks so that they can contribute to the contents and design of the new system.