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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer on 15 January 2019 to Question 207205 on dredging of the Port of Ramsgate, whether Natural England were informed of the Environmental Impact Assessment conducted by the Port of Ramsgate prior to the dredging of the port as part of contingency planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

From discussions with the Port of Ramsgate and its owner, Thanet District Council, Natural England (NE) understands that the dredging undertaken at the start of this year is considered to be maintenance dredging and as such is covered by previous environmental assessments.