Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what lessons Natural England has drawn from the performance of its nutrient mitigation scheme when designing its Environmental Delivery Plans and its future management of the nature restoration fund.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Natural England's Nutrient Mitigation Scheme (NMS) demonstrates the value of a strategic, catchment-level approach over site-by-site mitigation. Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) will build on this approach with Natural England’s NRF and NMS teams working collaboratively to consider best practices including the value of working with local stakeholders to identify and deliver solutions that have the greatest impact and secure value for money. The Government has committed to returning to Parliament once the first nutrient EDPs are made to provide a statement on initial learnings. EDPs covering other environmental issues will only be made after Parliament has considered that statement.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she is making towards meeting international nature recovery targets.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK’s 7th National Report was published in February 2026 and sets out our progress towards meeting the 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) by 2030. We are on track to meet 3, with the remaining 19 showing real improvements, including advances in marine protection, sustainable fishing, and biodiversity finance.
We are accelerating nature recovery, building on the steps we have already taken through our strengthened Environmental Improvement Plan. This includes: delivering the largest nature friendly farming budget in history, with £11.8 billion to be spent across this Parliament; enabling the return of lost species and habitats such as the first wild beaver releases since they were hunted to extinction around 400 years ago; investing £1 billion in tree planting and the creation of two new National Forests with a third to follow; and driving forward waste reforms which will see £10 billion invested in new recycling facilities.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2025 to question 97320, when her Department will publish its cross-government nature strategy; and for what reason it was not published in March as previously stated.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The cross‑government nature strategy is currently undergoing final cross‑government clearance, in line with standard collective agreement processes.
Publication in March was dependent on the completion of this process. The Department now expects to publish the strategy once collective clearance is complete and is working closely with other departments to enable publication as soon as possible.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent legislative steps she has taken to protect marine life.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to protecting and improving the marine environment at home and internationally to meet the global commitment to protect 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.
The Government introduced legislation on 10 September 2025 to enable the UK to implement its obligations under the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement and move towards ratification. The Act received Royal Assent on 12 February. Further secondary legislation will be required before the BBNJ Agreement can be ratified by the UK. This will happen when the parliamentary timetable allows. Under the BBNJ Agreement, the Conference of the Parties can establish area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas, in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Once we have ratified the Agreement, as a Party the UK will be able to participate fully in decisions on the establishment of such tools.
We continue to take legislative and non-legislative steps to protect our domestic marine environments.
The Marine Recovery Fund was established on 17 December 2025 with secondary legislation laid on the same date. The MRF’s aim is to help accelerate decision-making within the planning and consenting process for offshore wind, while delivering effective compensation to protect the marine environment. Government has also laid secondary legislation on 26 February to create a more flexible approach to environmental compensation for offshore wind, whilst also unlocking opportunities for nature recovery at scale.
In June 2025, the Marine Management Organisation launched a consultation proposing plans to limit bottom trawling in a further 41 MPAs, covering 30,000 sq km of England’s waters. Defra also launched a consultation on proposed changes to the marine licensing process. Defra and the Marine Management Organisation are carefully considering all responses received before making any decisions on future legislation.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what the (a) annual budget and (b) number of staff was for the Crown Prosecution Service Specialist Fraud Division in each of the last five years.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) cannot provide the annual budget and number of staff for the Specialist Fraud Division (SFD) in each of the last five years. Some organisational restructuring to meet the challenges posed by the evolving nature of crime was required at the end of 22/23, leading to SFD becoming subsumed by the multidisciplinary Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID).
Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the minutes of the Natural England Board Meeting of 30 July, in which the Chief Executive noted that nutrient mitigation risks remain significant, what the nature of those risks is; whether they are financial or environmental; and if he will publish any documents held by Natural England that clarify the nature of those risks.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The nutrient mitigation risk being referred to by our Chief Executive as referenced in the Board minutes of 30 July 2025, concerns the inherent uncertainties in predicting future mitigation demand from development and the costs of securing appropriate mitigation from third party suppliers within the financial modelling for the Nutrient Mitigation Scheme. Natural England has continued to work with central government to ensure we have the right skills and capacity to undertake financial modelling work of this kind.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his department has assessed the extent to which water companies, as statutory undertakers with statutory monopolies, will fall within the scope of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The legal framework for the provision of water and sewage services varies significantly across the UK. In England and Wales, services are delivered by private companies (including not-for-profit organisations), whilst in Scotland and Northern Ireland services are delivered by publicly owned companies. The Bill is drafted so that the duty of candour and offence of misleading the public apply to all water companies when they exercise public functions. The Code of Conduct provisions would apply to the publicly owned water companies in Scotland and Northern Ireland and their workers, but not private companies in England and Wales.
In relation to the Misconduct in Public Office offences at Part 3 of the Bill, Schedule 4 sets out a definitive list of roles which make someone a “public office holder” for the purposes of these offences. Most roles are listed specifically in the Schedule, paragraph 22 is more general. It captures “Other public bodies and offices” who fulfil three criteria: (a) the body or office is established by statute, a Minister, government department, or under the Royal Prerogative; (b) appointments to the office are made by the Crown, a Minister, or government department, or (in the case of a body) appointments to the body are wholly or mainly made in that way; and (c) in that office or body they are exercising functions of a public nature.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to enabling multiple conservation and environmental qualifications to be combined on the same land to encourage greater investment in natural capital.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra sponsors the British Standards Institution’s (BSI) Nature Investment Standards Programme to work with industry to develop a suite of standards to ensure that as they develop, UK nature markets secure positive outcomes for the environment. These standards have been developed using a market-led process with input from market experts, including private companies, and feedback from public consultations.
The standards are designed to drive consistency and integrity across UK nature markets, and Government is putting in place a range of other interventions to stimulate more private investment into nature recovery. At this stage, it has not been possible to attribute specific levels of investment to the standards, so no such assessment has been made. In line with the Magenta book, Defra is evaluating the impact of the standards, including on levels of investment.
On 24 March 2026, following consultations on earlier draft versions, BSI published standards for the Supply of Biodiversity Benefits and the Supply of Nutrient Benefits. These are available, along with all other published standards and those in development, at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/nature-investment-standards/the-bsi-nature-investment-standards (see attached). A draft standard for the Supply of Nature-based Carbon Benefits was published for consultation in summer 2025 and a subsequent version will be published in due course.
Also, in March this year we published a Land Use Framework for England which set a vision for multifunctional land use. To achieve that vision, we recognise that in some circumstances, it may make sense for multiple revenue streams to be combined on the same area of land. We are considering how best to support this vision while maintaining environmental integrity and intend to set out our position later this year as part of the forthcoming response to the recent consultation on Voluntary Carbon and Nature Markets.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what standards currently under development the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has discussed with the British Standards Institution.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra sponsors the British Standards Institution’s (BSI) Nature Investment Standards Programme to work with industry to develop a suite of standards to ensure that as they develop, UK nature markets secure positive outcomes for the environment. These standards have been developed using a market-led process with input from market experts, including private companies, and feedback from public consultations.
The standards are designed to drive consistency and integrity across UK nature markets, and Government is putting in place a range of other interventions to stimulate more private investment into nature recovery. At this stage, it has not been possible to attribute specific levels of investment to the standards, so no such assessment has been made. In line with the Magenta book, Defra is evaluating the impact of the standards, including on levels of investment.
On 24 March 2026, following consultations on earlier draft versions, BSI published standards for the Supply of Biodiversity Benefits and the Supply of Nutrient Benefits. These are available, along with all other published standards and those in development, at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/nature-investment-standards/the-bsi-nature-investment-standards (see attached). A draft standard for the Supply of Nature-based Carbon Benefits was published for consultation in summer 2025 and a subsequent version will be published in due course.
Also, in March this year we published a Land Use Framework for England which set a vision for multifunctional land use. To achieve that vision, we recognise that in some circumstances, it may make sense for multiple revenue streams to be combined on the same area of land. We are considering how best to support this vision while maintaining environmental integrity and intend to set out our position later this year as part of the forthcoming response to the recent consultation on Voluntary Carbon and Nature Markets.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect the British Standards Institution to release the biodiversity benefits standard and the nature-based carbon standard.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra sponsors the British Standards Institution’s (BSI) Nature Investment Standards Programme to work with industry to develop a suite of standards to ensure that as they develop, UK nature markets secure positive outcomes for the environment. These standards have been developed using a market-led process with input from market experts, including private companies, and feedback from public consultations.
The standards are designed to drive consistency and integrity across UK nature markets, and Government is putting in place a range of other interventions to stimulate more private investment into nature recovery. At this stage, it has not been possible to attribute specific levels of investment to the standards, so no such assessment has been made. In line with the Magenta book, Defra is evaluating the impact of the standards, including on levels of investment.
On 24 March 2026, following consultations on earlier draft versions, BSI published standards for the Supply of Biodiversity Benefits and the Supply of Nutrient Benefits. These are available, along with all other published standards and those in development, at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/nature-investment-standards/the-bsi-nature-investment-standards (see attached). A draft standard for the Supply of Nature-based Carbon Benefits was published for consultation in summer 2025 and a subsequent version will be published in due course.
Also, in March this year we published a Land Use Framework for England which set a vision for multifunctional land use. To achieve that vision, we recognise that in some circumstances, it may make sense for multiple revenue streams to be combined on the same area of land. We are considering how best to support this vision while maintaining environmental integrity and intend to set out our position later this year as part of the forthcoming response to the recent consultation on Voluntary Carbon and Nature Markets.