Soil: Environment Protection

(asked on 15th December 2022) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of progress towards all soil in England being managed sustainably by 2030, as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan.


Answered by
Trudy Harrison Portrait
Trudy Harrison
This question was answered on 20th December 2022

'Healthy soil' is included as one of the 66 indicators in the Outcome Indicator Framework of the 25 Year Environment Plan. These indicators are used to track environmental change that relates to the 10 goals. A Healthy Soil Indicator (E7) is currently being developed and a progress report for the 25 Year Environment Plan was published in July 2022 here.

We are developing a range of soil health monitoring measures to create a robust baseline from which we can monitor improvements in soil health considering the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of soil. This is aided by substantial new government investment in the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment Programme, which will yield valuable new data to aid improved understanding of national soil condition.

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