Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

(asked on 30th June 2021) - 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 the planned timetable is for publication of the 7th Quinquennial Review of Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 9th July 2021

The data-gathering phase of the independent 7th Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5 and 8 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) began on 8 April and ran until 7 July 2021. This initial stage collected evidence, via an online survey, from the GB statutory conservation authorities and relevant non-Governmental organisations. The planned timetable is that following a review of the evidence presented JNCC will then hold a public consultation in the late autumn before making final recommendations to Defra, Scottish Government, and Welsh Government at the end of the year.

My Department is also exploring how we might enhance species protections in a Green Paper which we intend to publish later this year. That Green Paper will ensure that the regulatory framework is clear and fit for purpose in driving the delivery of our new 2030 species abundance target and reversing declines of species, including iconic British species like the hedgehog, red squirrel and water vole.

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