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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to improve the condition of sites of special scientific interest in Lincolnshire.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) continue to be one of the most effective tools for protecting and enhancing biodiversity and deliver a wide range of health and socio-economic benefits.

Natural England has an ongoing programme to assess the condition of SSSI features and implement the actions needed to restore and maintain the condition of SSSIs, such as the Bardney Limewoods SSSI in Lincolnshire.

In the autumn budget we also allocated £13 million to Protected Site Strategies which will develop and implement spatial restoration plans for priority sites, such as The Wash, an internationally important coastal and marine protected site. These strategies will put in place action to restore protected sites and manage the impact of environmental harm.

The Nature Restoration Fund in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will also allow us to take a more strategic approach to the restoration of SSSIs and deliver improved environmental outcomes.