Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support his Department is providing to (a) Darlington Borough Council and (b) local authorities in the North East to assist with the (i) timely and (ii) cost effective resolution of the Nutrient Neutrality instructions issued by Natural England in March 2022.

We are aware meeting the requirements of the Habitats Regulations is impacting on development in some areas and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) continue to work across government to identify the range of solutions in the short, medium and long term. There is a package of support in place to enable local authorities affected by nutrient pollution to meet the requirements of the Habitats Regulations. This includes tools to help local authorities understand nutrient neutrality, ongoing practical support and £100,000 of DLUHC funding available for each Habitats Site catchment to enable affected areas to respond to the challenges of nutrient pollution in a partnership approach. This will enable affected areas to hire catchment nutrients officers to respond to the challenges of nutrient pollution in a partnership approach.

The Government is working with the water industry and regulators to ensure that considerable investment is directed at reducing nutrient pollution from wastewater. From 2020 to 2025, water companies are investing £2.5 billion in measures that reduce nutrient pollution. We are also taking action to support farmers to go further to reduce agricultural pollution and deliver for nature.