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

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the funding raised by the Nature Restoration Levy they expect Natural England to spend on services provided by private sector consultants, landowners and private contractors.

Defra is working closely with Natural England and the wider Government to ensure appropriate resources are in place to administer the Nature Restoration Fund. The levy rate which developers will be required to pay will be set by Natural England.

The Nature Restoration Fund will run on a full cost recovery basis. The Government may in some instances provide upfront funding to a delivery body to commence actions identified in Delivery Plans in advance of need, with costs recovered over time as development comes forward. The Nature Restoration Fund will offset the environmental impact of development via a developer contribution.

We recognise the important role farmers, land managers, ecologists, and nature service providers will continue to play in supporting both development and nature’s recovery. These will be essential to the design and delivery of nature conservation measures under this new system. Natural England will ensure competition and innovation in securing interventions which are impactful and offer good value for developers’ money.