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 AI-generated
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).
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
The Impact Assessment for the NRF used the example of nutrient neutrality to demonstrate how a strategic approach could reduce delays and improve environmental outcomes. Given the range of potential environmental impacts that could be addressed through an EDP, it would not be possible to consider all of these through the impact assessment but an indicative example of a known issue was used to demonstrate the potential scale of impact of this new approach. The efficacy of the NRF model will be considered through each EDP and these will clearly set out how the NRF approach differs depending on the environmental issue at hand. There are a number of legislative safeguards to ensure that an EDP can only be put in place where it will improve environmental outcomes. These include: • An EDP only being able to be put in place where the Secretary of State is satisfied that the effect of conservation measure will materially outweigh the negative effects of dev
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