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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to protect the population of swifts in the UK and to ensure that the swift is not among those species given red list conservation priority by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds when it undertakes its next review in 2021.

Swifts, like all wild birds, are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The UK is a signatory of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), which provides a global platform for the conservation of migratory animals including birds. A key aim of CMS is to agree internationally coordinated conservation measures throughout the range of migratory birds including swifts.

In the 25 Year Plan the Government outlined the steps it will take to embed an environmental net gain principle for development. As part of this, we have recently consulted on strengthening the net gain for biodiversity requirement in the National Planning Policy Framework and are currently considering proposals for consultation on a mandatory approach to net gain for biodiversity in planning policy.