Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many sites of special scientific interest in England were assessed in (1) 2021, (2) 2022, (3) 2023, and (4) 2024.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

On 1 April 2023 Natural England changed from a unit (or area)-based assessment and corresponding reporting process to one based on the features within each site, called Whole Feature Assessment. A feature is a habitat, species or geological characteristic for which the site is important.

More information is available here TIN216 Edition 2 Environment Act Interim Target for protected sites - TIN216 and a copy is attached.

As of March 2025, the proportion of SSSI features that had an up-to-date condition assessment in England is 31.6%

The breakdown of the number of assessments in England in each of those years was as follows:

2021- 939 assessments

2022- 781 assessments

2023- 591 assessments

2024- 921 assessments

The number of assessments in a year refers to either an assessment of a unit (pre-2023), or a feature (from 2023) on a site and not to a whole site. More than one unit or feature may be assessed on a site in a year, and the same site may have been visited in more than 1 year to monitor different units or features.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many sites of special scientific interest in England have up-to-date condition assessments.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

On 1 April 2023 Natural England changed from a unit (or area)-based assessment and corresponding reporting process to one based on the features within each site, called Whole Feature Assessment. A feature is a habitat, species or geological characteristic for which the site is important.

More information is available here TIN216 Edition 2 Environment Act Interim Target for protected sites - TIN216 and a copy is attached.

As of March 2025, the proportion of SSSI features that had an up-to-date condition assessment in England is 31.6%

The breakdown of the number of assessments in England in each of those years was as follows:

2021- 939 assessments

2022- 781 assessments

2023- 591 assessments

2024- 921 assessments

The number of assessments in a year refers to either an assessment of a unit (pre-2023), or a feature (from 2023) on a site and not to a whole site. More than one unit or feature may be assessed on a site in a year, and the same site may have been visited in more than 1 year to monitor different units or features.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether internal drainage boards are subject to a biodiversity duty, as set out in the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 and amended by section 102 of the Environment Act 2021.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

It is Defra's position that Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) are subject to the biodiversity duty, as set out in section 40(1) of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006 (as amended by section 102 of the Environment Act 2021). Defra’s view is that under the 2006 Act, IDBs are captured under section 40(4)(c) as public bodies and under 40(4)(d)(ii) as they are created or continued in existence by a public general Act (the Land Drainage Act 1991) which empowers the Secretary of State to establish them by Order.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Conservators of Ashdown Forest are considered to be a public authority.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Whether the Conservators of Ashdown Forest are considered a public authority depends on the specific legal context. There is no general or universal definition of a public authority in UK law. It may include any individual or organisation that carries out functions on behalf of the public or a particular section of the public. Where an organisation needs to understand if it is defined as a public authority in a particular context, it will need to seek its own independent legal advice.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 4 June (HL7640), what additional steps they are taking to safeguard victim-survivors of domestic abuse on 'direct pay' ahead of their response to their consultation on "Child Maintenance: Improving the collection and transfer of payments".

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The CMS takes the issue of domestic abuse very seriously and is committed to ensuring victims and survivors of abuse get the help and support they need to use the CMS safely.

The CMS has substantially strengthened its procedures and processes to support customers who are experiencing domestic abuse. They will not be complacent and will always look at ways to go even further.

The CMS has refreshed its approach and understanding of domestic abuse to include financial and coercive control and better awareness of how abuse affects all genders.

The CMS has access to a list of resources which helps caseworkers provide signposting to supporting organisations, and a Domestic Abuse Plan which includes clear steps to follow in order to support customers who are experiencing abuse. The list of resources and Domestic Abuse Plan is regularly reviewed.

As well as the Domestic Abuse Plan, the CMS responds to cases involving domestic abuse in several ways, including by acting as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases, and providing advice on how to set up bank accounts with a centralised sort code to limit the risk of a parent’s location being traced.

The CMS has a specialist team in place who deliver targeted support to parents subject to the most challenging and complex domestic abuse.

The CMS have also substantially reduced the time it takes to move a case from Direct Pay to Collect and Pay when a receiving parent reports missed payments

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 10 September 2024 (HL567), and with reference to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) article Economic statistics classifications and developments in public sector finances: April 2025 published on 22 May, why they do not consider Malvern Hills Trust to be a public body, and how they reconcile their Answer with the decision by the ONS to classify the Malvern Hills Trust to the local government subsector.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

It is Defra’s understanding that the Malvern Hills Trust is not a public body. This is based on the Cabinet Office’s guide to the classification of public bodies, which includes a helpful but brief definition in these terms: ‘A public body is a formally established organisation that is publicly funded to deliver a public or government service, though not as a ministerial department. The term refers to a wide range of public sector entities.’

The 1884 Private Bill that established Malvern Hills Trust also does not suggest that it would be classified as a public body.

More information on what constitutes a public body can be accessed in the Cabinet Office guide, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-bodies-reform (copy attached).

Defra does not hold information on the Office for National Statistics’ classification of the Malvern Hills Trust.

Found: (c) BARONESS COFFEY 272D★_ Clause 114, page 125, line 39, at end insert— “subject to a maximum of

Found: Clause 101 BARONESS GRENDER BARONESS COFFEY _ Clause 101, page 134, line 13, at end insert— “(iii

Found: BARONESS COFFEY 272BA★_ Clause 114, page 125, line 34, at end insert— “(1A) This section only applies

Found: Clause 101 BARONESS GRENDER BARONESS COFFEY _ Clause 101, page 134, line 13, at end insert— “(iii

Found: BARONESS COFFEY 183CC_ After Clause 26, insert the following new Clause— Review: child maintenance

Found: Clause 101 BARONESS GRENDER BARONESS COFFEY _ Clause 101, page 134, line 13, at end insert— “(iii

Found: Clause 76 BARONESS COFFEY ★_ Baroness Coffey gives notice of her intention to oppose the Question that

Found: Clause 76 BARONESS COFFEY ★_ Baroness Coffey gives notice of her intention to oppose the Question that

Found: BARONESS COFFEY 183CC_ After Clause 26, insert the following new Clause— Review: child maintenance

Found: BARONESS COFFEY 183CC★_ After Clause 26, insert the following new Clause— Review: child maintenance

Found: Letter dated 20/05/2025 from Jonathan Reynolds MP to Baroness Coffey regarding the Employment Rights

Found: Letter dated 20/05/2025 from Jonathan Reynolds MP to Baroness Coffey regarding the Employment Rights