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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what payments have been made under Schedule 9A, Part 5, Paragraph 25(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as amended by the Infrastructure Act 2015 to date.

To date, no thresholds for these discretionary payments have been set and no funds have been allocated or paid. In accordance with paragraph 26 of Schedule 9A, guidance on such matters will be provided to environmental authorities through a code of practice. No species control orders are expected to be made until the code is produced.