Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the proposals in Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on delivering the target in the Environment Act 2021 to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill would introduce a new Nature Restoration Fund that would unlock and accelerate development while delivering overall benefits for nature through investment in strategic improvements for protected habitats and species.

The fund will support the preparation of Environmental Delivery Plans (EDP), which will only be put in place where the Secretary of State is satisfied that the delivery of the conservation measures the EDP sets out are likely to outweigh the negative effects of development. In doing so EDPs will support the government’s target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030.