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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the National Wildlife Crime Unit in tackling wildlife crime in the North West.

Defra supports the valuable work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) and is providing £424,000 to the Unit in 2025-2026. It is satisfied with the NWCU’s effectiveness. The NWCU helps prevent and detect wildlife crime by obtaining and disseminating intelligence, undertaking analysis which highlights local or national threats, and assisting law enforcers with investigations. Defra has a strict grant reporting mechanism in place with the Unit whereby each quarter it provides qualitative and quantitative information setting out how Defra funding has been spent. In 2024-25 the NWCU provided support on wildlife crime cases to every local police force in the North West and indeed the whole of the UK.