Member

Several noble Lords raised issues around the scientific evidence that these regulations are based on or that has been taken into account. In particular, the noble Earl, Lord Leicester, mentioned the evidence of Andreas Heinemeyer. I reassure the noble Earl that his research was included in Natural England’s recently published evidence review, which I referred to earlier—NEER155. Although there has been much debate in this area, the strength of the collective evidence shows that burning contributes to peatland degradation by negatively impacting its hydrology and species balance. This compromises its ability to deliver the multiple environmental benefits that it can provide when in a healthy, functioning state.