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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that private landowners uphold environmental standards on (a) biodiversity protection, (b) water quality and (c) land management responsibilities.

The environment and farming are devolved matters, this response covers England only.

There are a wide range of regulations that protect biodiversity, water and other parts of the environment in England from potential harms caused by land management activities. For example, The Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations 2018 places restrictions on agricultural practices to reduce and prevent diffuse water pollution. The Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024 puts hedgerow management practices into law.

Land management regulations are enforced by a number of authorities, including the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Rural Payments Agency and the Forestry Commission. Defra is taking action to improve regulation that applies to farmers and other land managers, this includes an expanded Farm Advisory Service, better guidance and an increased number of advice-led inspections.

However, we know existing regulation can hold back businesses. We also know farmers do not always understand the purpose of regulation and they find it time consuming, with compliance difficult to demonstrate. This is why I have asked my officials to review farm regulation, focussing on how it can be more coherent, less time consuming and easier to understand. I have also asked all Defra regulators how they are supporting growth.