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 her Department has taken to halt and reverse species decline in Sussex.

We are committed to delivering our statutory biodiversity targets. To achieve these targets, we are taking large-scale action to create, restore, manage and protect habitats, reduce pressures on biodiversity, and support species recovery, in order meet our legally binding biodiversity targets. This includes £60 million over three years for the Species Recovery Programme, the largest government investment of its kind, and a further £30 million for species recovery on the national forest estate. Environmental Land Management schemes also provide substantial support for habitat creation, management, and targeted species action.

Defra Group has supported West Sussex and East Sussex County Councils to prepare their Local Nature Recovery Strategies with publication expected shortly. It will set nature recovery priorities and map specific proposals for habitat creation and improvement that will support many species.