- I am repeating the statement made last Friday by my noble Friend the Minister, Lord Benyon.The Government are committed to delivering large scale, widespread nature recovery across England. We depend on nature for everything—from food, water, and resources to the places we go when we need to relax and recharge—but over the last century, the state of nature in our country has declined dramatically.Our environmental improvement plan, published in January 2023, set out how we will continue to help nature to recover and thrive. We committed to doing more to restore the vital habitats that support a huge variety of species, which will help us deliver the ambitious biodiversity targets we have set under the Environment Act 2021.Local nature recovery strategies will be key to our drive to restore nature. The 48 responsible authorities, announced today, will lead on the preparation of localised, tailored strategies to support and recover nature, using the best of local expertise in the community. These responsible authorities, supported by £14 million of Government funding, will now begin to engage across their areas to prepare the strategies, working closely with landowners, farmers and land managers. Regulations and statutory guidance setting out the process responsible authorities must follow and what they should include in the strategies was published in March 2023. Delivery of the proposals set out in a local nature recovery strategy will not be directly required but will instead be encouraged by a combination of financial incentives, the support of local delivery partners and broad requirements on public bodies.Alongside local nature recovery strategies, which will support long-term planning for nature, the first round of the species survival fund opens today with an initial £25 million available to projects that will help drive the action we need to halt the decline in species.Taken hand in hand, the species survival fund and local nature recovery strategies provide opportunities, both in the shorter and longer term, for new and innovative projects to make a real difference, so that communities across England can contribute to nature recovery.This Government are proud of their extensive record on nature and climate. These measures are the latest of many to protect the environment. In just the last six months, we have:Set legally binding targets to protect our environment, clean up our air and rivers and boost natureAnnounced our environmental improvement plan which sets out delivery plan for building a greener, more prosperous countryAnnounced nearly £30 million to support developing countries in delivering the “30by30” land targetAnnounced the £5 million for projects which showcase the incredible work under way to study and restore nature across our network of overseas territoriesDEFRA Ministers attended the G7 Meeting on climate, energy and the environment in Sapporo, Japan. The G7 leaders agreed a joint statement to tackle global nature lossHosted a major multinational event at Lancaster House in London to drive forward action on the COP15Provided the £16 million of funding for local authorities to support plans to make new housing, industrial or commercial developments “nature friendly”Published the draft border target operating model setting out the UK Government’s plan to strengthen our borders against biosecurity threats and illegal importsLaunched a new climate change hub for the forestry sectorSecured a landmark deal for nature at COP15 in Montreal to protect 30% of our land and ocean by 2030Provided England’s national parks with an additional £4.4 million to support services such as visitor centres and park rangersHanded over the COP presidency at the COP27 summit in Egypt as we work to tackle climate change and reverse biodiversity lossLaunched the new green finance strategy and the nature markets framework to develop the growth of green financeAnnounced £110 million of funding for communities allocated under the rural Englandprosperity fund.Announced a ban this week on the sale of peat-based products in the retail horticultural sector by 2024Re-opened grants to boost domestic tree production with £5 million available for free and seed suppliersProvided £500,000 to our delivery partners of The Queen’s Green Canopy to fund the planting of trees in communities across the countryPublished the plant biosecurity strategyIntroduced new powers, including unlimited fines and prison sentences, as part of a crackdown on illegal tree felling in EnglandLaunched the Great Britain invasive non-native species strategyOpened this year’s round of the tree health pilot—a three-year scheme which tests different ways of slowing the spread of tree pests and diseases as well as building the resilience of trees across EnglandMade £14 million available to allow both local authorities and community groups to access funds for new tree-planting projects
Local Nature Recovery Strategy Responsible Authority
Planned total LNRS funding for financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25
Buckinghamshire Council
£238,000
Cambridgeshire an Peterborough Combined Authority
£307,974
Central Bedfordshire Council
£238,000
Cheshire West and Chester Council
£314,299
Cornwall Council
£343,692
Derbyshire County Council
£375,342
Devon County Council
£388,000
Dorset Council
£257,647
Durham County Council
£238,000
East Riding of Yorkshire Council
£240,747
East Sussex County Council
£300,740
Essex County Council
£379,987
Gateshead Council
£238,000
Gloucestershire County Council
£271,350
Greater London Authority
£238,000
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
£255,535
Hampshire County Council
£388,000
Herefordshire Council
£238,000
Hertfordshire County Council
£240,793
Isle of White Council
£238,000
Kent County Council
£381,784
Lancashire County Council
£388,000
Leicestershire County Council
£337,741
Lincolnshire County Council
£388,000
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
£238,000
Norfolk County Council
£333,020
North Northamptonshire Council
£238,000
North of Tyne Combined Authority
£285,498
North Yorkshire Council
£388,000
Nottinghamshire County Council
£285,268
Oxfordshire County Council
£238,000
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
£238,000
Shropshire Council
£320,921
Somerset Council
£310,000
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
£241,265
Staffordshire County Council
£388,000
Suffolk County Council
£282,108
Surrey County Council
£254,844
Tees Valley Mayoral Combined Authority
£242,285
Warwickshire County Council
£238,000
West Midlands Combined Authority
£238,000
West Northamptonshire Council
£238,000
West of England Combined Authority
£243,909
West Sussex County Council
£255,464
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
£296,911
Westmorland and Furness Council
£388,000
Wiltshire Council
£277,813
Worcestershire County Council
£253,618
Total
£13,938,555
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