Nature Minister quizzed on Land Use Framework and developing the circular economy
The Minister for Nature, Mary Creagh, will be questioned by MPs on her department’s recently released Land Use Framework and DEFRA’s work to prevent waste and develop a circular economy.
The session comes days after the EFRA Committee launched its new land use and nature long-term inquiry, and after reports that many local authorities have missed DEFRA’s target to commence food waste collections by March 2026.
Joined by two senior DEFRA officials, the Minister will be questioned on what the Framework says about the Government’s long-term strategic approach for how England’s finite land should be used to meet multiple national priorities. These include the competing pressures to protect ecosystems, conserve landscapes, support the agricultural sector and develop new housing and infrastructure.
The cross-party Committee will ask how the Framework interacts with other overarching, strategic documents that DEFRA is working on, including some that have been delayed, such as the Farming Road Map, and further details of Environmental Land Management schemes.
Meeting details
A recent report by the Office for Environmental Protection said the Government is off track to achieve its nature-recovery targets, but that progress has been made since last year’s assessment. MPs may ask how the Government intends to achieve its goals to restore hundreds of thousands of hectares of habitats, such as forest and peatland, which will entail a significant shift of land use.
Later in the session, witnesses will be asked about the Government’s progress towards shifting the economy away from increased production of plastic, and greater emphasis on reuse solutions. Examples include reusable containers for everyday shopping and repairable products. There may also be questions about policies to cut food waste in England, which has reduced by 17% since 2022. An overall drop of 51% is needed by 2050.
MPs will also be interested to hear why many local authorities have missed the Government’s target for all areas to have food waste collection by March 2026.