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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will commission a National Audit Office evaluation of the implementation, effectiveness and value-for-money of (a) statutory Biodiversity Net Gain and (b) the re-designed Sustainable Farming Incentive.

The National Audit Office (NAO) undertook a review of statutory biodiversity net gain (BNG) in May 2024 and the Government is implementing many of the recommendations. The Government also recently consulted on options for improving BNG for small, medium and brownfield sites and will publish a response in due course.

The NAO also undertook a review of the Farming and Countryside Programme in June 2024, which considered a previous version of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). Ministers are considering how to change the SFI scheme so that it better supports sustainable farming and drives growth. We will introduce improved budgetary controls to help money reach more farmers and focus on the most impactful actions to benefit the environment and which work alongside farm business. Full scheme details including the budget, timing and eligibility will be published well ahead of launch in the first half of 2026.