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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Local Nature Recovery Strategy mapping on future (a) funding opportunities, (b) land development and (c) land use planning for farmers.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) are designed to support more strategic decision-making and investment in nature recovery. They do this by agreeing priorities for nature recovery and mapping where habitat creation or improvement could contribute most towards those.

Farmers and land managers are encouraged to deliver the actions proposed on their land but are not required to do so. Developers are incentivised to deliver actions proposed in LNRSs through an uplift in the biodiversity net gain calculation. LNRSs will also provide information that can help farmers and land managers make stronger bids for funding through schemes such as Landscape Recovery, and to help them make choices about how they manage their land. Government is continuing to explore how delivery of LNRS actions might be further incentivised so that environmental targets can be met more cost effectively.

LNRSs are also supporting nature recovery to be better reflected in the planning system and in development. Planning practice guidance was published in February 2025 which explains the role of LNRSs in helping planning authorities to conserve and enhance the natural environment.