Recommendations & Conclusions
15 items
1
Recommendation
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
The Government should undertake an impact assessment of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to assess how the Nature Restoration Fund would interact with and impact upon the operation of Biodiversity net gain and of broader Government initiatives to encourage investment into nature markets. The Committee expects this impact assessment to …
Government response. The government states an impact assessment for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill was published on 6 May 2025 and explains how Biodiversity Net Gain and the Nature Restoration Fund are complementary, and how the Bill supports investment in nature markets. …
3
Conclusion
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
The work done so far in Government to incorporate natural capital approaches into policymaking and the overall evaluation of the economy is welcome: but there is little evidence to how this approach genuinely informs Ministerial and Cabinet decisions on the economy. The Government is yet to demonstrate how it is …
Government response. The government describes existing guidance (Green Book, ENCA, Environmental Principles Policy Guidance) and established processes to assess climate and environmental impacts in fiscal decisions, particularly for Spending Review 2025, as mechanisms for integrating natural capital into policy and financial decision-making.
4
Recommendation
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
We recommend that in its response to this report the Government provide an assessment of the extent to which a natural capital approach is currently incorporated into decisions on policy, how risks to current levels of natural capital are taken into account, and what measures are in place to mitigate …
Government response. The government provides an assessment by detailing how the natural capital approach is incorporated through the Green Book Supplementary Guidance, Environmental Principles Policy Guidance, and the Environmental Improvement Plan, which includes mechanisms for assessing progress and ensuring environmental considerations in …
5
Conclusion
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
We expect the Government to use the June 2025 Spending Review to set out how it has taken a natural capital approach to the evaluation of spending decisions as well as to set out how the approaches taken will grow the UK’s stock of natural capital; and what the expected …
Government response. The government confirms it established processes for Spending Review 2025 to assess climate and environmental impacts of fiscal decisions, requiring departments to provide relevant information for spending bids. It further highlights that the Spending Review committed over £2.7 billion annually …
6
Conclusion
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
Taxpayer purchase of ecosystem services alone is no longer a sufficient mechanism to deliver the overall improvement in ecosystem services necessary for the scale of nature recovery required. (Conclusion, Paragraph 49)
Government response. The government agrees more private investment is needed for nature recovery, outlining a strategy for multifunctional land use and confirming over £2.7 billion in annual investment for farming and nature recovery, with ELMS funding increasing to £2 billion by 2028/29.
7
Conclusion
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
The Committee agrees with the Government’s current approach to driving investment into nature recovery through drawing in private finance. Whatever the source of the funds, policy should ensure that farmers and land managers are supported to deliver ecosystem improvements while also farming to produce food. (Recommendation, Paragraph 50)
Government response. The government agrees to support farmers and land managers to deliver ecosystem improvements alongside food production, detailing an investment of over £2.7 billion annually in farming and nature recovery, including significant increases for Environmental Land Management Schemes, to provide income …
15
Conclusion
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
Ministers have set out the criteria they plan to use to establish whether land in England is considered to be ‘protected’ for the purposes of the 30by30 commitment. We note that an area is to be considered ‘protected’ if it can be shown that it is “protected against loss or …
Government response. The government confirmed its 30by30 vision and criteria, stating it is developing more detailed guidance on interpretation and application, alongside an action plan and assessment/reporting processes, all to be published later in 2025.
17
Recommendation
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
For successful nature markets to be delivered there needs to be an effective balance between efficiencies of scale and local accountability which brings about local buy-in and transparency, ensuring that offsets are being delivered to a high standard. A method for this to be achieved is through facilitating developers to …
Government response. The government outlined ongoing BNG consultations, including efforts to simplify the small sites metric and increase access to the off-site market for SME developers, aiming to make BNG delivery easier and ensure local biodiversity benefits.
18
Recommendation
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
The Government should continue to demonstrate leadership on natural capital markets by evaluating and reviewing the BNG policy and whether its design, metrics, and implementation remain effective in increasing investment into natural capital projects and delivering measurable improvements in nature recovery. Estimates of the investment to be generated from BNG …
Government response. The government confirms it continues to monitor BNG, has launched consultations to improve its operation, and will keep monitoring and evaluation requirements under regular review, publishing reports periodically.
30
Recommendation
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
The Government must set out unequivocally its support for BNG policy and ensure that it continues to deliver genuine habitat net gains and supports a thriving market in natural capital credits. The Government should make use of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects as a method to drive support for BNG. (Recommendation, …
Government response. The government unequivocally states its continued support for BNG policy. They confirm that BNG will be introduced for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) from May 2026 and that a consultation is underway to determine its application, directly addressing the recommendation …
31
Conclusion
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
Our inquiry has found many financial mechanisms that can be employed to fund nature recovery: nature markets are one piece of the puzzle. Natural capital assets cannot be directly traded with the same ease as carbon dioxide allowances or carbon credits, owing to their inherent locational basis. In addition to …
Government response. The government agrees that biodiversity is location-specific and that markets must reflect this, highlighting the BNG scheme, development of domestic standards, rejection of international biodiversity offsetting, and exploring regulatory oversight through the VCNM consultation.
32
Recommendation
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
The Government should clearly define its expectation for the level of nature recovery in England which is likely to be achieved through the operation of nature markets, and should set out the criteria against which progress will be evaluated. In doing so, the Government should set, and publish, a target …
Government response. The government highlights existing initiatives and market growth, stating that Environment Act Targets are already set to improve natural capital and interim targets are in the Environmental Improvement Plan, implying these address the committee's call for targets and criteria.
33
Conclusion
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
Nature and biodiversity are highly location specific and a market which trades in biodiversity credits must account for this. The UK Government should ensure that the UK market has integrity and strong regulation that minimises the risk of the UK market offshoring its nature degradation. Care should be taken to …
Government response. The government agrees on the need for market integrity and outlines existing actions like BNG metrics and BSI Nature Investment Standards. It also commits to exploring options to strengthen regulatory oversight, market rules, assurance frameworks, and financial resilience through the …
34
Recommendation
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
To achieve success in nature markets, the Government must produce the full suite of documents that will be fundamental to its success, including the Land Use Framework, the Government responses to the consultations on a UK Green Taxonomy and on raising integrity in voluntary carbon and nature markets, rules on …
Government response. The government commits to publishing the Land Use Framework and its response to the VCNM consultation later this year, and a decision on the UK Green Taxonomy soon. It notes existing guidance and ongoing consultation for stacking and bundling rules, …
35
Recommendation
1st Report – The role of natural capita…
Accepted
At such an early stage it is difficult to assess the full impacts of the biodiversity net gain policy. The Government should remain steadfast in its commitment to implementation of this policy: any indication that it could be rolled back would cause uncertainty in the market and would have a …
Government response. The government states its continued support for the BNG policy, demonstrating this commitment by outlining two recently launched consultations on applying BNG to NSIPs (due May 2026) and improving BNG for minor and brownfield developments.