Peatland Restoration

Lord Blencathra Excerpts

Thursday 12th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Blencathra (Con)]

My Lords, the United Kingdom peatlands hold over 3 billion tonnes of carbon. I welcome the Government’s commitment to continue funding the Conservative Government’s innovative £50 million England Peat Action Plan, since the benefits of peatland restoration are significant and multiple. While the Peatland Code is a valuable source of revenue to incentivise this work, based on reducing carbon emissions, it is not enough in many parts of England. Will the Minister go back and press Defra to encourage greater private sector investment in the other goods provided by restoration, for example from the water and insurance sectors? Crucially, does he share the concerns of many organisations that the environmental delivery plans, the EDPs, in the UK’s Planning and Infrastructure Act, risk damaging nature-based markets by allowing developers to bypass legal obligations for on-site protection and just pay into a general centralised fund instead?

[Lord Katz (Lab)]

The noble Lord is absolutely right in drawing our attention to the Peatland Code and the work of other organisations and he is right in saying that private finance will be vital if we are to meet our peatland restoration objectives. It is important that peatland projects are able to make the most of new revenue streams, including carbon finance. We are acting in a number of different ways as a Government to ensure peatland restoration. A key constraint on restoration delivery is the size of the sector, which is why we are launching a new sector capacity grant of over £1 million in the summer, which will provide funding for training, skills and equipment. In terms of development, peatland policy works alongside planning systems, rather than prohibiting development. It guides developers to design schemes that avoid unnecessary peat loss and manage water tables safely.