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

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) in farmland in England.

The off-site BNG market represents a significant opportunity for land owners and tenants in England to diversify income whilst contributing to nature recovery. Analysis commissioned by Defra and completed by Eftec in 2021 estimates that the market for off-site units to be worth £135 million-£274 million annually.

Defra officials have been engaging with the farming community, including individual farmers and representative bodies, to understand their concerns, questions and suggestions, with regard to taking part in the off-site market. Officials also ran a landowner guidance workshop in December 2022, which included significant farmer representation from different parts of England.

This extensive engagement has been used to inform several guidance products, directed at all landowners and managers, including farm owners and tenants:

• Guidance on how to take part in the off-site market – including considerations for how to price units, responsibilities and risks – due to be released imminently
• Guidance on combining BNG with other ecosystems service payments, grants and agri-environmental schemes (including ELMs) – also due to be released imminently
• Guidance on executing BNG, including on identifying suitable habitat for the land, conservation covenants and monitoring and evaluation - due by summer 2023

The Government has also committed to invest £30 million into the forthcoming Big Nature Impact Fund – a new blended finance fund for nature which will unlock significant private investment into nature projects, including habitat banks to support BNG.