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 of 3 July 2019 to Question 268974, if his Department will impose a moratorium on development on peatlands pending the publication of his Department's England Peat Strategy.

Development affecting peat is controlled through the Town and Country Planning system. The National Planning Policy Framework contains strong protections for habitats of environmental importance which planning authorities are expected to regard in their decision making.