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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of nutrient neutrality mitigation schemes on (a) biodiversity and (b) carbon sequestration.

Nutrient mitigation can provide carbon and biodiversity benefits alongside other wider environmental benefits if the mitigation involves nature-based interventions such as wetlands or other habitat creation. Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation Scheme will continue to maximise the wider environmental benefits of nutrient mitigation in its new and expanded form; as well as seeking to promote innovative approaches to reducing nutrient pollution.