Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that the National Infrastructure Commission assesses the potential effect of proposals for infrastructure building on biodiversity.

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has been established to provide impartial, expert advice, and make independent recommendations to the government on economic infrastructure. The NIC will deliver the first-ever National Infrastructure Assessment in the summer, taking a strategic view on the UK’s long-term infrastructure needs and how to meet them.

Supporting sustainable economic growth is one of the NIC’s key objectives, and the government has asked the Natural Capital Committee, chaired by Professor Dieter Helm, to advise the NIC and ensure green and blue infrastructure are appropriately considered within wider infrastructure discussions.

This government is committed to this being the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it, and we have developed a 25-year Environment Plan^[1] to deliver this vision.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/693158/25-year-environment-plan.pdf