Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
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 plans to take to help tackle biodiversity decline.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to turning the tide on nature’s decline. That is why, in England, we have set four legally binding targets for biodiversity. We have legislated to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and to reverse species decline by 2042; to reduce the risk of species extinction; and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitats.
These targets, alongside other targets, on water and air quality for example, will drive action to create and restore habitats, reduce pressures on nature, and recover species. We have set out our plan to deliver on these ambitious targets, along with our other environmental targets, in the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) published 31 January 2023. Here we link the different objectives, plans and mechanisms for recovering nature.
We have introduced significant new funding for nature - for woodland and peatland restoration, for green recovery and for landscape scale nature recovery - and we are developing new land management schemes that reward environmental benefits. In the update to our Agricultural Transition Plan, published in January this year, we announced premium payments for actions that will achieve greater environmental benefits, supporting habitats and species.
In November we announced the 34 projects selected for the £25 million second round of our Landscape Recovery scheme. These projects will collectively restore more than 35,000 hectares of peatland, create over 7,000 hectares of new woodland and benefit more than 160 protected sites (SSSIs).
In June last year we also launched a £25 million Species Survival Fund to provide early progress towards our species abundance targets and support the recovery of declining species. The fund will support projects focussed on the creation and restoration of wildlife-rich habitats, including on protected sites. Successful applications to the fund will be announced this month.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
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 Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on forests and land use. what steps he has taken to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
At COP26 in Glasgow, over 140 world leaders committed to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. This commitment was reiterated at COP28, marked by the conclusion of the first Global Stocktake of the world’s efforts to address climate change under the Paris Agreement. The UK Government committed to tackling illegal deforestation in UK supply chains through the Environment Act in 2021 and announced further details of the secondary legislation at COP28 in December 2023.
This law will make it illegal for organisations with a global annual turnover of more than £50m to use key forest risk commodities produced on land illegally occupied or used. Initial secondary legislation will focus on four commodities identified as key drivers of deforestation: cattle products (excluding dairy), cocoa, palm oil and soy. Organisations in scope will also be required to undertake a due diligence exercise on their supply chains and to report on this exercise annually. Organisations using 500 tonnes or less of each regulated commodity in the reporting period will be able to submit an exemption. Businesses in scope that do not comply with these requirements may be subject to fines and other civil sanctions.
The secondary legislation, which is part of a wider package of measures, will be laid in the near future.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much and what proportion of the total flood and coastal risk management budget has been spent in each (a) region, (b) constituency and (c) local authority.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In March 2020, the Government doubled its investment in flood defences to a record £5.2 billion between 2021 and 2027 to better protect communities across England from flooding and coastal erosion. We are in the third year of this Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management investment programme.
Since April 2021, approximately £1.5 billion of this funding has been invested in over 200 flood protection schemes, better protecting over 71,000 properties.
Below is a table which shows the actual spend between 2021 and 2023, the allocation between 2023 and 2025, and an indicative allocation from 2025 to 2027 by ONS region. An indicative range is given for 2025 to 2027 because the programme is reviewed and refreshed annually as projects progress. This allows for flexibility to manage change and introduce new schemes or urgent works if necessary.
Grant in Aid (Millions) | Actual spend | Allocation | Indicative allocation range | ||
ONS Region | April 2021 to March 2022 | April 2022 to March 2023 | April 2023 to March 2024 | April 2024 to March 2025 | April 2025 to March 2027 |
East Midlands | £71.3 | £76.5 | £64.1 | £600.3 | £146 to £206 |
East of England | £73.7 | £79.2 | £107.0 | £111.9 | £168 to £254 |
London | £32.7 | £34.3 | £47.3 | £15.5 | £18 to £36 |
North East | £13.6 | £15.5 | £17.4 | £32.0 | £68 to £94 |
North West | £107.6 | £95.4 | £95.4 | £98.8 | £256 to £356 |
South East | £115.3 | £130.8 | £134.7 | £108.1 | £226 to £330 |
South West | £95.2 | £95.6 | £109.0 | £155.9 | £293 to £417 |
West Midlands | £37.2 | £35.2 | £36.1 | £40.9 | £67 to £99 |
Yorkshire | £128.7 | £114.9 | £104.5 | £117.4 | £246 to £350 |
Projects in more than one ONS region | £66.9 | £76.8 |
|
| £342 to £418* |
* Projects in more than one ONS region indicative allocation range is inclusive of April 2023 to March 2027
Investment is allocated where the flood risk is highest and the benefits of flood resilience are the greatest. A consistent methodology is used, applying a national funding formula under the partnership funding policy, to allocate funding to schemes proposed by all risk management authorities. This ensures a fair distribution of funding based on agreed priorities, principles and needs. The availability of feasible projects also influences the distribution of investment. There are therefore no specific regional investment targets.
The table attached (with data caveats) also shows the allocation and spend by local authority and constituency between 2021 and 2025.
See table attached.
Each year the Environment Agency also produces a summary of flood and coastal erosion risk management work carried out by risk management authorities in England. This is required under Section 18 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. When the current FCERM investment programme ends, after March 2027, the Environment Agency will publish a report with a breakdown of spending, similar to the report published in 2022 after the 2015-2021 investment programme.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much and what proportion of the total flood and coastal risk management budget has been allocated to each (a) region, (b) constituency and (c) local authority.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In March 2020, the Government doubled its investment in flood defences to a record £5.2 billion between 2021 and 2027 to better protect communities across England from flooding and coastal erosion. We are in the third year of this Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management investment programme.
Since April 2021, approximately £1.5 billion of this funding has been invested in over 200 flood protection schemes, better protecting over 71,000 properties.
Below is a table which shows the actual spend between 2021 and 2023, the allocation between 2023 and 2025, and an indicative allocation from 2025 to 2027 by ONS region. An indicative range is given for 2025 to 2027 because the programme is reviewed and refreshed annually as projects progress. This allows for flexibility to manage change and introduce new schemes or urgent works if necessary.
Grant in Aid (Millions) | Actual spend | Allocation | Indicative allocation range | ||
ONS Region | April 2021 to March 2022 | April 2022 to March 2023 | April 2023 to March 2024 | April 2024 to March 2025 | April 2025 to March 2027 |
East Midlands | £71.3 | £76.5 | £64.1 | £600.3 | £146 to £206 |
East of England | £73.7 | £79.2 | £107.0 | £111.9 | £168 to £254 |
London | £32.7 | £34.3 | £47.3 | £15.5 | £18 to £36 |
North East | £13.6 | £15.5 | £17.4 | £32.0 | £68 to £94 |
North West | £107.6 | £95.4 | £95.4 | £98.8 | £256 to £356 |
South East | £115.3 | £130.8 | £134.7 | £108.1 | £226 to £330 |
South West | £95.2 | £95.6 | £109.0 | £155.9 | £293 to £417 |
West Midlands | £37.2 | £35.2 | £36.1 | £40.9 | £67 to £99 |
Yorkshire | £128.7 | £114.9 | £104.5 | £117.4 | £246 to £350 |
Projects in more than one ONS region | £66.9 | £76.8 |
|
| £342 to £418* |
* Projects in more than one ONS region indicative allocation range is inclusive of April 2023 to March 2027
Investment is allocated where the flood risk is highest and the benefits of flood resilience are the greatest. A consistent methodology is used, applying a national funding formula under the partnership funding policy, to allocate funding to schemes proposed by all risk management authorities. This ensures a fair distribution of funding based on agreed priorities, principles and needs. The availability of feasible projects also influences the distribution of investment. There are therefore no specific regional investment targets.
The table attached (with data caveats) also shows the allocation and spend by local authority and constituency between 2021 and 2025.
See table attached.
Each year the Environment Agency also produces a summary of flood and coastal erosion risk management work carried out by risk management authorities in England. This is required under Section 18 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. When the current FCERM investment programme ends, after March 2027, the Environment Agency will publish a report with a breakdown of spending, similar to the report published in 2022 after the 2015-2021 investment programme.