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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland's finding that 26 percent of the 1,720 native plants it studied are threatened with extinction; and what plans they have to protect such species.

In England, we have four legally binding targets for biodiversity: to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030; to reverse declines by at least 10% by 2042, when compared with 2030; to reduce the risk of national species extinction by 2042; and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, also by 2042.

To meet these targets and deliver positive outcomes for species, including threatened plants, we are taking actions to: create and restore, wildlife-rich habitats; reduce pressures on biodiversity; and deliver targeted action for threatened species. For example, Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme provides funding for targeted action for threatened species, including a range of plant species such as the Fen orchid and the Lady Slipper orchid.