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 30 June 2020 to Question 63295 on Economic Growth: Environment Protection, and with reference to the Prime Minister’s speech of 30 June 2020, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of Project Speed on (a) regulations and (b) environmental protections; and what recent discussions he has had with the (i) Prime Minister and (ii) Chancellor of the Exchequer on amending (A) regulations and (B) environmental protections.

Project Speed provides an opportunity to achieve better outcomes for nature, in line with our manifesto and the 25 Year Environment Plan, while speeding up infrastructure delivery.

The Project is in the early stages. There has therefore been no specific assessment yet on the effect of amendments to environmental regulations; we will conduct such assessments as part of the usual policy-making process.

The Secretary of State frequently discusses a range of issues with the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer.