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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to replace EU LIFE funding for projects such as the Little Tern Recovery Project at Pagham Harbour after the UK leaves the EU.

Projects funded under the L’Instrument Financier pour l’Environnement (LIFE) programme have played an important role in helping to implement environment policy in the UK. The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan makes clear that public funding will continue to play an important role in protecting and enhancing our natural environment. Securing a negotiated exit from the EU would ensure that UK organisations could continue to access LIFE funding until the end of 2020. The UK Government has guaranteed to underwrite the funding for agreed LIFE projects led by UK organisations in the event of the funding from the EU stopping in a ‘no deal’ exit. Once the terms of the UK’s exit from the EU are clear, we will decide as part of the next multi-year Spending Review, whether the UK will seek to associate with the LIFE programme as a third country or whether domestic arrangements should be established.