Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to monitor and evaluate whether conservation measures delivered through the Nature Restoration Fund materially outweigh the environmental impacts of development.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Throughout an Environmental Delivery Plan’s (EDP) duration, monitoring will play a critical role in providing the scientific evidence and confidence that conservation measures are achieving the desired effect.
Natural England are required to publish reports covering an EDP’s start date to its mid-point, and its mid-point to end date. Natural England may also choose to publish a report at any other time.
These reporting requirements will provide transparency around the environmental improvements that each EDP has delivered and whether it is having the required impact.
Where monitoring shows these measures are insufficient, Natural England will ensure backup measures are deployed.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Tree Action Plan will support the restoration of ancient woodland, particularly on smaller plantations on ancient woodland sites and harder to restore sites.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government will continue to support the restoration of ancient woodland. Woodlands as small as 0.5ha are now eligible for the Countryside Stewardship supplements “Manage and restore Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWs)” and “Manage native woodland including Ancient Semi-Natural Woodlands”, ensuring support is available to landowners and managers of smaller ancient woodlands.
In 2025, we also updated our Countryside Stewardship offer by simplifying our baseline Woodland Improvement grant.
These steps will help to bring more of our smaller ancient woodlands into restoration and management.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that domestic timber production does not adversely impact biodiversity and habitat creation targets.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We encourage woodlands in England to be planted and managed in compliance with the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) which is an agreed UK wide approach to sustainable forest management. In commercial woodlands which are managed in line with the UKFS or where specific biodiversity positive actions are taken, biodiversity benefits can be gained. We will continue to look at how all kinds of woodlands can contribute to our biodiversity targets through the upcoming Land Use Framework.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether developer contributions to the Nature Restoration Fund will be ring‑fenced for use within the geographic area covered by the relevant Environmental Delivery Plan.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Revenue paid into an Environmental Delivery Plan is subject to a statutory ringfence for use to implement that Environmental Delivery Plan and deliver appropriate conservation measures as outlined within that Environmental Delivery Plan.
As set out in Section 77 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act, Natural England must spend funds on conservation measures that relate to the environmental feature in relation to which the levy is charged.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the amount of developer contributions to be paid into the Nature Restoration Fund in each of the next five years.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) will be financed through a developer levy.
As set out in our NRF Implementation Plan, the first Environmental Delivery Plans will cover developers’ obligations related to nutrient pollution mitigation.
The overall level and profile of receipts will depend on the timing and scale of developments coming forward under each individual Environmental Delivery Plan.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her proposed timeline is for publishing the Tree Action Plan.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government will publish a new Trees Action Plan in 2026.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to tackle waste crime in rural communities.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is making the necessary policy and regulatory reforms to close the loopholes being exploited by waste criminals. Key reforms include carrier, broker, dealer reform, waste permit exemption reform and the introduction of digital waste tracking. I believe these reforms are the best way to drive criminality out of the waste sector whether in urban or rural communities.
However, the Government recognises that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime. That is why the Government collaborated with the National Police Chiefs’ Councils to deliver their renewal of the Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy, which was published in November. The strategy, lasting until 2028, will ensure efforts to reduce crime benefit every community no matter where they live, including rural communities.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Tree Action Plan intends to support the restoration of ancient woodland, particularly on smaller plantations on ancient woodland sites or sites that are harder to restore.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government will continue to support the restoration of ancient woodland. Woodlands as small as 0.5ha are now eligible for the Countryside Stewardship supplements “Manage and restore Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWs)” and “Manage native woodland including Ancient Semi-Natural Woodlands”, ensuring support is available to landowners and managers of smaller ancient woodlands.
In 2025, we also updated our Countryside Stewardship offer by simplifying our baseline Woodland Improvement grant.
These steps will help to bring more of our smaller ancient woodlands into restoration and management.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria will be used to assess whether Environmental Delivery Plans meets the Overall Improvement Test.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Overall Improvement Test requires the Secretary of State to consider whether, by the end date of an Environmental Delivery Plan, the positive effect of all the conservation measures set out in the Environmental Delivery Plan will materially outweigh the negative effect on the environmental feature of all the development that it enables.
This is a determination that will be informed by the best available scientific evidence.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
For the last financial year, the total cost to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts. Where relevant, this includes special severance payments that have associated settlement agreements.