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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department remains committed to (a) the application of the precautionary principle in environmental decision-making and (b) maintaining existing statutory protections for protected and priority species in full.

Under the Environment Act 2021 Ministers of the Crown must have due regard to the Environmental Principles Policy Statement when making policy. The statement sets out how to interpret and apply five environmental principles - integration, prevention, rectification at source, polluter pays, and the precautionary principle. This is in addition to any application of the precautionary principle required by specific measures or regulatory regimes, for example, in Article 1 of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulations (EC 1907/2006).

Defra remains committed to maintaining protections for protected and priority species. We will not weaken the UK’s continued support for, and implementation of, our international commitments such as the Bern Convention.