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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding has been allocated by (a) Government (b) the EU to Natural England for the implementation of Shared Nitrogen Action Plans; what annual spend was of Natural England for that work; and how many employees of National England have been located to the delivery of that work.

The development of Shared Nitrogen Action Plans (SNAPs) as an approach for Natura 2000 sites at risk from excess nitrogen deposition was proposed in the Atmospheric Nitrogen Theme Plan under the EU LIFE funded IPENS (Improvement Programme for England’s Natura 2000 Sites) programme. The total EU contribution to the IPENS programme – which looked at all the major pressures on Natura 2000 sites - was €1,785,388. This included around £45,000 for evidence projects associated with the nitrogen theme plan, but it is not possible to distinguish the amount of funding for staff time in developing the SNAPs concept itself.

The SNAPs approach is still at a pilot stage and some initial pilot work led by Natural England (NE) started in 2016. Although each SNAP does not necessarily need to be led by NE, over the next two years we expect NE area team staff to be involved in investigating the approach in at least eight areas where nitrogen emissions from different types of source are affecting Natura 2000 sites. This pilot work is being overseen by two NE senior specialists in air quality and supported by staff in each of the relevant area teams.

By overall reduction in risk at the site level, declines in background reactive nitrogen concentrations through implementation of the Government’s approaches to meet targets under the National Emissions Ceiling Directive will contribute to SNAPs. So too will localised reductions in emissions, including those funded through Rural Development Programme for England schemes to reduce ammonia emissions from agriculture, as well as advice on efficient use of nitrogen and ammonia reduction measures through catchment sensitive farming (CSF). CSF is in the process of appointing 11 additional members of staff to work on aspects of ammonia reductions from farming, and to build capability in this area that will also contribute to meeting objectives under SNAPs.

The pilot work is funded by Government under NE’s Grant in Aid allocation, but it is not readily possible to determine the specific time spent by our area teams on this aspect of NE’s site protection work at these Natura 2000 sites. EU LIFE funding is involved in a few of the sites, though again the SNAPs element is usually only one of a range of activities being funded at the site in this way.