Nature Conservation

Mr. Benyon
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Invasive Non-native Species Framework Strategy for Great Britain in tackling invasive species arriving from countries which have no comparable strategies.

Huw Irranca-Davies
We have made no specific assessment of this. However one of the ongoing actions set out in the implementation plan for the Non-Native Species Framework Strategy for Great Britain is to maintain contact with colleagues dealing with invasive non-native species policy issues in other European member states and encourage consistent representation of issues of concern to Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Alongside this, the UK is supporting the European Commission in developing its thinking on proposals for an effective EU Strategy on Invasive Alien Species.