Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to make cuts to the agricultural budget.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
As is typical, the farming budget beyond this year will be part of the Government’s spending review.
This Government recognises that food security is national security. We said we would provide stability for farmers and we are delivering on this commitment and have confirmed that the first Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements of the 2024 offer are now live. We will confirm plans for rollout of schemes and our wider approach when possible.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle the decline of UK seabirds.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ensuring nature’s recovery is a top priority for this Government. This is why the Government has announced a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) to deliver on our legally binding environment targets, including reversing the decline in species abundance and reducing the risk of national extinction.
Earlier this year, Natural England published the English Seabird Conservation and Recovery Pathway (ESCaRP), which assesses the vulnerability of seabird species in light of the pressures they are facing and sets out actions that could help to bring about seabird recovery. Defra plans to seek stakeholders’ views on the recommended actions this winter.
The Oslo-Paris Commission (OSPAR), the regional seas convention for the North East Atlantic, has published a Regional Action Plan (RAP) for Marine Birds on 6 September. UK experts were involved in developing the RAP which aims to reduce and eliminate the main pressures and activities impacting marine birds in the North-East Atlantic.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the state of nature in national parks.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The new Government is committed to making Protected Landscapes greener, wilder and more accessible. We are currently considering the best way to do this.
To support this, Defra is working with the National Parks and National Landscapes to improve data on the state of nature in Protected Landscapes.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps Government is taking to meet its 2030 nature recovery targets.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In England, we have committed to halting the decline in species abundance by 2030. The UK Government is also committed to protecting 30% of the UK’s land and sea by 2030, and to playing our part in achieving the global 30by30 target adopted at the UN Biodiversity Summit COP15 in December 2022.
Delivering these targets sits at the heart of our mission to ensure nature’s recovery. To meet our species abundance target we will create, restore and connect wildlife-rich habitat, reduce pressures on species including from pollution and climate change and take targeted action to recover specific species, working in partnership with civil society, communities and business. Delivering 30by30 on land in England means ensuring that our most important and wildlife-rich habitats are benefiting from effective, long-term conservation and management. This will require a collaborative approach, and all sectors have a role to play.
We have launched a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan to complete before the end of the year to make sure it is fit for purpose to deliver our ambitious targets. This review is an important step in turning the page on nature recovery and will provide the foundations for delivering these targets. This includes the Government’s manifesto promise to expand nature-rich habitats such as wetlands, peat bogs and forests so people can enjoy and wildlife can thrive, including on public land.
We have also commissioned an overarching evaluation framework for our 2030 species target and wider biodiversity targets programme. This will strengthen our understanding of our progress towards meeting our biodiversity targets and will follow Magenta Book guidance.