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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) cross-border coordination and (b) strategic support for (i) species reintroductions, (ii) ecological corridor planning and (iii) access to funding between (A) England and the devolved administrations and (B) mid-Wales and the Welsh Marches.

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

Defra has not taken steps on cross-border co-ordination or strategic support for reintroductions between England and the devolved administrations, including mid-Wales and the Welsh Marches.

All reintroductions in England are expected to follow the Code for Reintroductions and other Conversations Translocations. The Code states that, while it is specific to England, cross-border co-operation and engagement with relevant authorities and stakeholders is essential where releases occur close to England’s neighbours or involve a reintroduction of a species to Great Britain. We would therefore expect any reintroduction project to carry out cross-border coordination as part of the planning phase of their reintroduction project.

On strategic support for ecological corridors, delivering the Environment Act habitat target will create more ecologically functional, better-connected habitats. Creating and restoring wildlife-rich habitat can help improve habitat connectivity to support larger and more resilient species populations, especially in the context of a changing climate.

The Four Countries’ Biodiversity Group (4CBG) provides a forum to take forward substantive and policy-development issues relating to biodiversity common to all four countries.