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, whether there will be simplified a) permit systems or b) funding mechanisms provided to streamline i) community groups, ii) small landowners or iii) local conservation networks' involvement in habitat creation.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are setting the conditions for more private investment to flow into domestic nature recovery, including by exploring how we can further incentivise the private sector to pay for nature’s services - through a Call For Evidence on Expanding the role of the private sector in nature recovery; and ensuring the integrity of UK nature markets by sponsoring the British Standards Institution to develop a suite of UK Nature Investment Standards.
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 steps she is taking to help support farmers and landowners in West Berkshire to participate in the Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) was published in October 2025. Responsible authorities have been steered to involve farmers and landowners in preparation of their LNRS. LNRSs will help farmers and landowners to choose which agri-environment scheme options are suitable for their land. However, having land mapped in an LNRS does not compel farmers or landowners to make changes to how they use or manage their land – this will continue to be their choice.
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 assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of long-term lags between developers-funding and achievement of full habitat development under biodiversity offsetting.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The biodiversity net gain metric includes a temporal risk multiplier which takes into account the average time lag between the start of habitat works and the target outcome. This ‘time to target’ multiplier recognises and takes account of the time it takes to create different habitats and factors those into metric calculations.
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 support the Government plans to provide for a) community-led or b) small-scale habitat creation initiatives in areas such as West Berkshire.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) sets local priorities for biodiversity and environmental improvement and proposes where action is most needed. The LNRS will guide coordinated action for nature, including through community-led and small-scale habitat creation initiatives.
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, whether the Government provides a) grants or b) matches-funding to encourage private businesses, landowners, and farmers in West Berkshire to participate in habitat creation and restoration.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 1 December, the Government published our revised Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP25) – a clear roadmap for restoring nature. This is our long-term plan for improving the natural environment and enjoyment of it. EIP25 includes prioritised actions to help meet the ambitious Environment Act targets and sets an interim target to create or restore 250,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitat outside of protected sites by December 2030.
The Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund, funded by Defra and delivered by the Environment Agency, has provided grants to over 130 projects across England to attract private investment for nature recovery. These projects are plotted on an interactive map available on the Ecosystem Knowledge Network’s website: https://ecosystemsknowledge.net/neirf/neirf-project-directory-2/.
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 funding the Government has allocated to a) implement the Local Nature Recovery Strategy in Berkshire for financial year 2025-2026 and b) what proportion of that funding is assigned for delivery in West Berkshire.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As responsible authority for the Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council has been allocated £135,500 in financial year 2025-26 to support their transition to delivery of their LNRS. Government has not prescribed how this funding will be distributed geographically within the area covered by the LNRS.
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, whether the Government is providing additional support to crayfish companies affected by recent changes to licensing requirements.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The current licensing requirements have been in place since 2019, and there have been no recent changes. To help businesses adjust at the time, the Government allowed a two-year transition period for licensed exports of live signal crayfish, where import was legal in the destination country. This temporary measure gave businesses time to develop alternative markets such as processed or frozen products.
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, whether her department plans to consider a legally binding target to increase the proportion of food that is UK-grown and eaten in Britain.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have no plans for a legally binding food production target. In 2024 we were 65% self-sufficient for all food; 77% for food we can produce here – a balance that has been stable for many years. As we develop plans to support delivery of the food strategy outcomes, we are focussed on securing resilient domestic production that supports good growth and enhances domestic food security.
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 recent discussions has she held with UK a) wholesale suppliers b) distributors and c) the farming community on supporting UK agricultural and horticultural supply chains.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has many discussions with a range of stakeholders. The Government’s commitment to farming and food security is steadfast, which is why we've allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament.
Defra regularly engages with a farmers, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and distributors through a range of forums to discuss issues affecting the food supply chain.
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 assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the speed of the roll out of the Environmental Land Management Scheme.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes remain at the centre of our offer for farmers and nature, putting us on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector.
The Department now has more than half of farmers in an ELM scheme, including over 44,500 Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreements. It is our ambition to reopen SFI in the first half of 2026. Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier opened for applications in September 2025 through a controlled rollout. Two pioneering Landscape Recovery projects have now started long-term delivery on the ground.
We are on track to spend the committed £1.8bn, the largest figure ever, on ELM schemes in 2025/26.