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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on (a) defining the metrics for measuring and (b) setting a long-term legally binding target for the condition of (i) land and (ii) sea sites protected under the Environment Act 2021 to help meet the Government's commitment to increase the amount of protected land in the UK to 30 percent by 2030.

In early 2022, we will publish a public consultation on the proposed long-term targets to be set under the Environment Act 2021 framework. This will include a rationale and specify the metric for each of the proposed targets. Alongside the consultation, we intend to publish an evidence pack and Impact Assessment that will provide more detailed information about the evidence approach used to develop the targets. We are required by the Environment Act 2021 to set at least one long term target for biodiversity, and are currently considering several potential options, including related to habitats.