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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure adequate funding for Natural England to protect biodiversity on new housing developments.

For the 2025-2026 financial year, Natural England received a total of £248 million funding from Defra to deliver their strategic aim of recovering nature for growth, health and security. In addition to this the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is due to provide up to £325,000 new funding through the New Homes Accelerator scheme, to help Natural England accelerate the processing of planning applications and secure environmental improvements.