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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the modified heather dominated upland peat managed by Natural England is degraded.

Natural England manages 7,865 hectares of upland peat areas with a mosaic of dwarf shrub heath and blanket bog vegetation types. The latest condition assessments report that whilst 15% is unfavourable, either with no signs of change or declining, 72% is unfavourable recovering meaning that positive management is restoring the habitats and the ecosystem services they provide and 13% is recorded as favourable.