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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 9 January (HL4498), what consideration they have given to including swift bricks as a biodiversity net gain in the schedule of the Environment Act 2021.

The Government has consulted on the detail of implementation and secondary legislation for mandatory biodiversity net gain in the Environment Act, and the response will be published in due course. The mandatory approach will be based on a biodiversity metric which assesses biodiversity using habitats. Species-based features such as bird and bat boxes are not included within the metric; instead it focuses on the habitats such species need to forage and complete their life cycles. Planning Practice Guidance published to help implement planning policy makes clear that relatively small features can often achieve important benefits for wildlife, with incorporating ‘swift bricks’ in developments in particular highlighted as an option. Specific biodiversity features, such as swift bricks, would normally be required for developments through either the relevant local plan or through the local authority’s development control team.