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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of implications of her Department's policies of the recommendation in the report entitled Project Willow, published on 29 May 2025, to include biochar from digestate in agricultural use policy.

Biochar is not yet widely used in UK agriculture, but its use is growing, particularly as a soil improver rather than as a fertiliser. The Government is supporting research through the Biochar Demonstration Project and working with the British Standards Institution to develop a robust methodology for greenhouse gas removals and assess biochar’s wider benefits and risks.