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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of ringfencing funding for local authorities from planning fees for (a) monitoring and (b) enforcing on-site biodiversity net gain.

The Government has provided over £35 million of new burdens funding to Local Planning Authorities (LPAs), county councils and combined authorities thus far to help them implement mandatory biodiversity net gain (BNG). The uses to which the funding can be put are broad and there is no definitive list as requirements will differ across authorities. Some of this funding may be used for monitoring and enforcement responsibilities, including for ‘on-site’ BNG requirements. Decisions on any further funding are subject to the outcome of the spending review.

All significant on-site BNG must be legally secured by a planning condition, planning obligation or conservation covenant for 30 years. If a developer does not meet BNG requirements they may be in breach of the planning condition or legal agreement, and the LPA has a range of planning enforcement powers and may take enforcement action. Where significant on-site gains are secured by a conservation covenant, the responsible body is responsible for enforcing the agreement.