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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Wildlife and Countryside Link’s estimates of the resources required for successful implementation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies.

The Government has committed to funding all new burdens on Local Authorities arising from the Environment Act. This includes those relating to the preparation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs). We have considered Wildlife and Countryside Link’s estimates, alongside the feedback from the 5 LNRS pilots that finished in May 2021.

Following the spending review settlement, Defra is working through spending plans for the next three years, including by working closely with local Government organisations to determine the level of additional capacity required to implement the Act effectively.

Defra will share further details of the resources that will be made available for implementing Local Nature Recovery Strategies in the coming months.