Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 21
21
Not Addressed
Unidimensional impact assessment for Nature Restoration Fund is unsatisfactory for broader environmental issues.
Conclusion
We accept that the initial impact assessment of the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) was carried out on the basis of nutrient neutrality, due to limitations with broader data availability. However, as the NRF will have considerable implications for a wide range of environmental issues aside from nutrient pollution, a unidimensional impact assessment is not satisfactory. We welcome the reassurances from the Minister for Housing and Planning that the NRF will not reduce the existing protections of habitats and species. However, this does not provide a satisfactory substitute for a full and independent analysis of the impacts the NRF will have if applied to other habitats and species, which have vastly differing characteristics and management techniques. We believe it unwise to impose a policy solution on a problem that has not been fully accounted for. (Conclusion, Paragraph 89)
Government Response Summary
The government's response discusses consulting on changes to planning policy for the natural environment, including green infrastructure provision, but does not address the committee's criticism regarding the unidimensional impact assessment of the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF).
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
64. We have consulted on changes to planning policy for the natural environment, including a new requirement for local planning authorities to set standards for green infrastructure provision, drawing on Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework. One of the aims of the proposed policies is to bring more consistency in the way in which these matters are considered across local planning authorities.