Last week while Parliament was closed down in its half term holiday a significant number of written questions were submitted by some MPs and one of them who raised many questions last week was Caroline Lucas. She focused on a wide range of themes one of which included two questions directed to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Although all questions are nominally directed to the Secretary of State for Departments, the Ministers who respond to most questions are junior Ministers. One of these two questions was entitled “Environmental Land Management Schemes” and it did get some very modest responses to the question supplied by Mark Spencer but tragically the other one which was entitled “Environment Protection: Standards” seem to have been either rejected or ignored by Trudy Harrison and so we now need Therese Coffey who is the Secretary of State for DEFRA to release a proper answer on behalf of her Department for these two themes and specifically the question that was not responded to. Here are the Questions and Answers but we now need a response from Therese.

Caroline: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Environmental Land Management scheme on targets set under the Environment Act 2021; and if she will make a statement.

Mark: The Environmental Improvement Plan, published 31st January 2023, sets out the actions we will take to meet our targets under the Environment Act 2021. This includes relevant work across the whole of Government, such as the Environmental Land Management schemes.

Caroline: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she had discussions with (a) Natural England, (b) the Environment Agency and (c) the Office for Environmental Protection on the preparation of the Significant Improvement Test published on 31 January 2023; if she will place a copy of that advice in the House of Commons Library; and if she will make a statement.

Trudy: The Secretary of State’s conclusion that the Significant Improvement Test has been met adhered to the legislative requirements set out in the Environment Act 2021, and was underpinned by an extensive evidence base.