§ Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domerasked Her Majesty's Government:
What arrangements the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has made to make use of the detailed biodiversity information held in local records centres for targeting and advising on environmental stewardship; and in their view what efficiencies can be realised by doing so. [HL151]
§ Lord WhittyThe provision of detailed local information can assist in targeting the agri-environment schemes towards locally significant wildlife, thereby delivering greater benefits to biodiversity in that area. Defra has made a substantial investment over the years in the National Biodiversity Network, which is improving the access to biological records from many sources, including those held by local records centres. I understand that such data are increasingly being used in the targeting process for agri-environment schemes.