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 help ensure that environmental protections are fully complied with on private land.

Public and private land are subject to the same environmental protections. The United Kingdom is a world leader in environmental protections and Defra is committed to maintaining these

Public bodies responsible for environmental protections such as the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Rural Payments Agency already help and advise landowners and tenants on how to comply where appropriate, and where necessary will enforce rules whether on public or private land

The power of entry provisions contained in Section 108 of the Environment Act 1995 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/25/section/108#:~:text=(b)he%20apprehends%20on%20reasonable,Schedule%2018%20to%20this%20Act) do not distinguish private land from public land. The majority of the sites that the Environment Agency regulates by way of permit are on private land and are inspected in accordance with the applicable legislation. Decisions about compliance and enforcement are made in line with the Environment Agency's Enforcement & Sanctions Policy (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environment-agency-enforcement-and-sanctions-policy/environment-agency-enforcement-and-sanctions-policy).