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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage participation in the wild beaver reintroduction program in (a) areas prone to downstream flooding and (b) England; and whether he plans to provide additional (i) support and (ii) resources to farmers in those regions.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

The Government recognises that beavers can bring many benefits for the environment including reducing downstream flooding.

A licence is needed to release any beavers into the wild. Applications will be considered against comprehensive wild release criteria. These criteria have been designed to ensure only high-benefit, low-risk projects are licenced, and that beavers are reintroduced at a measured pace in a well-managed way.

Support for farmers, landowners and local communities will be provided through a rigorous risk assessment in the application process and the existing management framework laid out in our 5-step beaver management approach.

This will be backed up by support through local beaver management groups and Environmental Land Management options.