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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in response to the report by the Office for National Statistics Habitat extent and condition, natural capital, UK: 2022, published on 3 May 2022; in particular, what steps they are taking in respect of the changes in the number of protected sites on semi-natural grassland (1) in favourable condition from 2020–22, (2) in unfavourable condition from 2020–22, and (3) in recovering condition from 2020–22.

Biodiversity policy is devolved. The Office for National Statistics report indicates that most of the England grassland priority habitats both in lowland and upland protected sites were broadly maintained in either favourable or recovering condition between 2018 and May 2022. Nevertheless, there are some exceptions, including lowland neutral grassland and upland calcareous grassland, showing significant change to unfavourable declining condition. In Natural England’s view, this is due to a range of factors including the reluctance of some land managers to renew or take up Agri-Environment Schemes during the period of transition to new schemes. In addition, the halting of site condition reporting during the Covid lockdown may have impact these figures.

Natural England is taking several steps to address this, including working with land managers to maximise the take up of existing and new land management schemes including Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier and Higher Tier management options.

In the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 the Government has set an interim target that by 2028 all Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) will have an up-to-date condition assessment and that 50% of SSSIs will have actions on-track to bring them into favourable condition.

Since 2018, 13 new SSSIs have been designated where grassland and those species dependent on grassland habitats is the main interest feature Natural England’s SSSI pipeline includes 7 more grassland sites for notification.