Numbers of the UK’s most precious animals and plants are still falling, as a countrywide nature-loss crisis continues, State of Nature report finds.

Report author and University of Sussex environmental-biology professor Fiona Matthews said: “We need a lot more investment [in nature].

“There is a belief in government that things can just magically happen for free.”

By Victoria Gill and Kate Stephens www.bbc.co.uk

Loss of nature is outpacing investment and effort to tackle it, conservation organisations say.

Their State of the Nature report found 16% of 10,000 mammals, plants, insects, birds and amphibians assessed were threatened.

They include UK wildlife icons such as the turtle dove and hazel dormouse.

The government has said it is committed to “increasing the amount of habitat for nature to thrive”.

But conservation organisations say more investment and a shift to much more wildlife-friendly farming and fishing are urgently needed.

Busy roads often block migration paths for common toads, making it difficult for them to reach breeding ponds

The 203-page document was produced by more than 60 organisations, including wildlife conservation groups, government agencies and academics.

Its analysis of decades of research paints a grim picture – natural spaces and the wildlife that depends on them are in decline.

Nida al-Fulaij, from the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, told BBC News: “The main takeaways from this report are alarming.”

And she explained how thousands of studies used in the report examined the abundance or distribution of UK wildlife.

‘Bleak outlook’

“Where we can, we count species year after year,” Ms Fulaij said.

“Another way to measure how a plant or animal is faring is to repeatedly examine a site and ask, ‘Is the species here or not?'”

Plants and animals monitored since the 1970s have declined in abundance by an average 19%.

And this trend suggests a bleak outlook for much of the country’s native wildlife, conservation scientists say.

This should make everyone “sit up and listen”, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) chief executive Beccy Speight said.

Restoring nature would also help to tackle the climate crisis.

“We need to move far faster as a society towards nature-friendly land and sea use,” Ms Speight said.

“Otherwise, the UK’s nature and wider environment will continue to decline and degrade, with huge implications for our own way of life.”

Responding to these calls for action, the government said it was investing in its “30-by-30” pledge, to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030.

“At the start of this year, I published our comprehensive Environmental Improvement Plan,” Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said, “setting out how we will create and restore at least 500,000 hectares [2,000 sq miles] of new wildlife habitats.”

The government also highlighted investments including:

• a £40m Species Survival Fund
• £750m for woodland and peatland restoration

But RSPB conservation-science head Prof Richard Gregory told BBC News: “We’d need more to achieve the goal of 30 by 30.

“The task ahead of us to recover nature in the UK is large and complex – we are really talking of billions of pounds and not millions to change systems and tackle the drives of decline.

“That investment would return a huge amount for society in time and save huge future costs if we allow the environment to continue to decline and degrade.”

Since 1970, the report says, of the 2,890 species in Britain’s “priority group”:

• 58% fell in number
• 19% increased

• Almost 1,500 UK native species of plants and animals are now threatened with extinction
• Most of the important habitats for UK nature – including woodland, wetlands and wildflower meadows – are in poor condition
• Only about 11% of UK land is within protected areas – and not all are well managed for nature and wildlife
• None of the seafloor around the UK is in “good condition”, because of damage from fishing gear

In the North Pennines, Nic and Paul Renison have transformed the way they farm, to create more space for nature, dividing their 400 acres (160 hectares) into small pastures and moving their cows into a new field each day.

“The idea is that it’s like the buffalo on the plains – they move every day, then the pasture gets 60 days to recover,” Nic said.

With the help of the Woodland Trust, they have also planted wildlife-friendly hedgerows to create wildlife “corridors” throughout their farm.

“The more you do, the more nature you attract – it gets addictive,” Paul said.

All five of the UK’s resident owl species can now be found on the Renisons’ farm and 50 different bird species are breeding there, a recent survey revealed.

In England, an estimated 70% of land is farmed.

And studies suggest nature-friendly farming can boost production.

In one large-scale study in central England, turning over land from crops to wildlife habitat increased yields, probably by boosting the abundance of insects that pollinate those crops.

But the Nature Friendly Farming Network said more investment would be needed “to support all farmers in restoring nature and acting on climate change”.

But the report also found “targeted conservation”, concerted efforts to restore habitats and protect species, had worked well:

• The number of species in a marine protected area (MPA) in Lyme Bay, Devon, had significantly increased since trawling was banned, in 2008
• 600 sq km (150,000 acres) of the Cairngorms, in the Highlands, had been restored for woodland-dependent wildlife
• The RSPB’s Hope Farm, in Cambridgeshire, had provided a research and demonstration site, showing how crop yields could been increased along with bird numbers

Report author and University of Sussex environmental-biology professor Fiona Matthews said: “We need a lot more investment [in nature].

“There is a belief in government that things can just magically happen for free.”

But while she acknowledged the great work from thousands of volunteers, funded work was needed too.

“I often see a press release for £1m for this or that – but it is a drop in the ocean for what is actually required to tackle this issue,” Prof Matthews said.

“Decisive” Rishi Sunak repeatedly dodged H2S questions in excruciating interviews, suggesting that making sure the roads are free of potholes: “That’s priority number one.” (Orders of magnitude cheaper too, although levelling up on this in Devon has never seemed to be anywhere near “priority number one”, let alone dualling the A303 , electrifying the railway west of Bristol or improving the limited capacity of the single track west of Salisbury. None of which would come near HS2 “levelling up investment”. – Owl)

For the last decade at least, prime ministers have traditionally done a big regional broadcast round before their party conference. 

2023 is no exception as the Tories gather for their conference in Manchester starting on Sunday.

Yesterday, the PM did an hour of quick-fire interviews starting with BBC Radio York at 8 a.m. … BBC Radio West Midlands at 8.08 a.m. … BBC Radio Manchester at 8.15 a.m. … BBC Radio Shropshire at 8.22 a.m. … BBC Radio Tees at 8.30 a.m. … BBC Three Counties Radio at 8.38 a.m. … BBC Radio Cornwall at 8.45 a.m. … and finally BBC Radio Berkshire at 8.52 a.m. He then sat down for 15 (15!) back-to-back TV interviews with political editors from the BBC regions and nations.

They didn’t go well, including his grilling on Spotlight on sewage.

Archie Mitchell www.independent.co.uk

Rishi Sunak has blamed the pandemic for Britain’s failing railways as he refused 12 times to rule out scrapping HS2’s northern leg in a series of excrutiating interviews.

The prime minister said Covid-19 caused everyone to “stop travelling on the rail network”, which has made running train services “very difficult”.

Challenged on why he had “failed the North’s railway passengers so badly” – amid anger over plans revealed by The Independent to scale back the much-heralded high-speed rail line – he replied: “There have obviously been challenges on the rail network more generally. And it’s across the country because of the pandemic.”

In the excruciating round of interviews with local BBC radio hosts, Mr Sunak refused repeatedly to commit to building the high speed rail network north of Birmingham – and instead suggested fixing potholes was “priority number one”.

The PM said there were “spades in the ground” on phase one of the project, but refused to say whether he was committed to phase two, whichThe Independent revealed Mr Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are considering scrapping to save cash.

The prime minister repeatedly highlighted his focus on building better connections between northern towns and cities, investing in local transport such as bus services and making sure potholes are filled.

But, asked for a “yes or no” answer on whether he would scrap HS2’s northern leg, the PM said: “I am not not speculating on future things.”

And challenged over the state of Britain’s rail infrastructure by BBC Radio York, Mr Sunak blamed problems with train services on the pandemic.

Presenter Joanita Musisi highlighted operators being stripped of their franchises and being taken into state control. She said: “Why have you failed the North’s rail passengers so badly?”

Mr Sunak replied: “There have obviously been challenges on the rail network more generally.

“And it’s across the country because of the pandemic, and the government ploughed in billions and billions of pounds to keep our services running.

“When you have a pandemic and everyone stops travelling on the rail network that makes life very difficult and people can understand that.”

The Railway Industry Association (RIA) on Monday pointed to Department for Transport (DfT) figures showing that from April 2022 to March 2023, overall rail passenger numbers were the same as in 2012, when the UK Government first confirmed support for HS2.

RIA chief executive Darren Caplan said: “One of the reasons cited by critical politicians for scrapping HS2 Phase 2 is that passenger numbers are significantly down and people will not travel by train in future.

“This is plain wrong… today’s passenger levels are already significantly higher than when the business case for HS2 was approved, and have been growing back strongly since the pandemic.”

Speaking to BBC West Midlands, he said “what is important” is “that we are investing in the transport that they use every day”. Mr Sunak said the government is working to make sure roads are free of potholes and that bus services are “reliable and frequent”.

In a brutal exchange with BBC Radio Manchester’s Anna Jameson, she said: “We are straight talking people in the North. It is a yes or a no, are you scrapping the HS2 line between Birmingham and Manchester.”

Mr Sunak said: “Like I said, I’m not not speculating on future things. We have spades in the ground right now and are getting on.”

Ms Jameson said: “Is it under review?”

He said: “The government is always making sure that we get value for money out of everything we do but that’s just a statement of the obvious.

“But I think what people also should know, because I know there’s a lot of focus on this one thing, but actually what are the journeys that people use most in Greater Manchester or across the north? It’s in their cars right now getting to work taking their kids to school making sure that the roads are free of potholes.

“That’s priority number one.”

An exasperated Ms Jameson said: “We are not talking about potholes, the main story right now across the country is people want to know about the future of HS2 and still now you can’t give me a yes or a no. You are the main in control. You have the keys. You can tell us now if it is happening.”

Mr Sunak said: “My point to you is that the vast majority of the journeys that people make are in their cars, making sure that we make sure our roads are well maintained is really important.”

She interrupted: “But we are talking about trains, we are not talking about cars.”

In one of the biggest political stories of the year, The Independent revealed Mr Sunak was in secret talks – dubbed Project Redwood – with his chancellor to scrap the second phase of the project.

Former chancellor George Osborne and ex-deputy PM Lord Heseltine described the proposal as a “gross act of vandalism”, which would end up being a case of “economic self-harm”.

After the story broke on 14 September, Downing Street repeatedly stone-walled before ministers accepted talks over the most dramatic decision in years to stop a £34bn infrastructure spend were taking place.

The story has prompted unprecedented fallout, with two former prime ministers attacking Mr Sunak amid a cascade of criticism and cabinet divides. Boris Johnson and David Cameron were joined by ex-chancellor Philip Hammond in urging the PM not to cut the high-speed rail route.

An example of the constructive use of scrutiny – Owl

County councillors who voted to axe the service back in the summer have been told to think again before taking the books-on-wheels service off the road for good.

Guy Henderson, local democracy reporter .www.radioexe.co.uk

Stephen Fry, Michael Rosen and Michael Morpurgo are among the high-profile writers who backed a county-wide campaign to save the service, and nearly 9,000 people have signed a petition.

Now members of a county council scrutiny committee have voted to send the decision back for a re-think.

“Let’s not kid anybody,” said Cllr Ian Roome (Lib Dem, Barnstaple North). “It’s a cut in services because we want to reduce the budget. It would be detrimental for our rural communities.”

The county council’s cabinet decided in July that it would not be cost-effective to replace its four ageing mobile library vans after hearing that the vehicles were nearing the end of their serviceable lives and would cost up to £800,000 to replace.

But the decision was ‘called in’ for a second debate amid a public campaign to save the mobile service.

“I am failing to grasp why we are cutting a service which is still being used,” said Cllr Roome.

The scrutiny committee was told demand for mobile libraries had dwindled over the last 10 years and a number of village stops had been removed as a result. Devon already has 50 static libraries as well as online resources and community schemes.

July’s cabinet meeting also pledged £25,000 to make sure vulnerable users could access alternative services.

But John Smith of Coldridge Parish Council told the meeting the service should be a ‘flagship’ for the county, and the ’misconceived’ closure would affect thousands of people.

Cllr Jacqi Hodgson (Green, Totnes and Dartington) said axing it would be “a massive retrograde step” and Cllr Rob Hannaford (Lab, Exwick and St Thomas) warned colleagues: “When it’s gone, it’s gone, and that will be a really sad day for Devon.”

Cabinet member for libraries Cllr Roger Croad (Con, Ivybridge) said July’s decision had been one of the saddest he had ever made.

But, he said, the number of people using mobile libraries was declining sharply, and online alternatives and volunteer book deliveries were available.

“It is not my intention to remove people from books, or books from people,” he said. 

Cllr Jerry Brook (Con, Chudleigh and Teign Valley) added: “It’s about value for money, not only for library-users but also for the rest of the people in this county.

“How many of the people who signed the petition actually use the mobile libraries? If we were to ask nearly 800,000 residents in Devon if this is value for money, I think the answer might be quite interesting.”

After a series of votes on amendments, members eventually agreed to send the matter back to the cabinet, asking it to reconsider its decision to axe the libraries.

Cabinet members will be asked to get  precise figures on leasing rather than buying new vehicles, and reducing costs through crowdfunding or sponsorship.

They will also be asked to make sure alternative provision of library services is in place before any services are taken away.

Councils are facing a record cash shortfall of more than £3.5bn in the coming year with jobs and services facing cuts, according to an analysis.

Rowena Mason www.theguardian.com 

Data compiled by Unison, the trade union, found there were 114 councils in England, Scotland and Wales – almost a third – facing shortfalls of more than £10m. It said 15 councils were likely to be in the red by more than £40m next year.

Top of the list is Birmingham city council, with a £164m shortfall, followed by Thurrock council with a gap of £157m, both of which in effect recently declared themselves bankrupt.

Other authorities with severe cash shortfalls are Hampshire county council, on £82m, Sheffield city council, on £72.7m, and Bradford city council, on £72m.

Unison found the data from freedom of information requests as well as examining publicly available information. The research found that 86% had a predicted budget gap, with just 14% saying they were on course to balance the books.

It warned that the situation was likely to worsen as the cumulative funding gap is predicted to rise even further to more than £7bn in 2025/26.

The union said many local authorities were already considering job cuts as well as scaling back community services such as waste collection, libraries and leisure centres. Others may sell land and buildings or dip further into reserves.

Christina McAnea, the general secretary of Unison, said many councils were “on the brink”.

“Communities rely on their local authorities for all manner of essential services, such as waste collection, road repairs and parks and other open spaces,” she said.

“But councils are on their knees. Ministers seem to care very little about public services and local government has been hit hard over very many years.

“Essential services can’t run on thin air. Staff levels have already been cut to the bone in desperate attempts to balance the books.

“Yet more service cuts and job losses are sadly inevitable across the country unless the government intervenes with the lifeline of significant extra funding. Not just for those on the brink, but to councils everywhere.”

Unison highlighted Woking council, where 350 workers have been put on notice of possible redundancy as it seeks to cut 60 positions, and Kirklees council, which has plans to axe 250 jobs between October and next March.

Hampshire is reviewing its school crossing patrols, putting up to 45 jobs at risk, while Kent is considering the closure of 37 children’s and youth centres across the county.

Following the analysis, Unison called on Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, to provide extra grant funding in the autumn statement to help with the immediate challenges, warning that local authorities and their communities would no longer be able to cope.

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said: “Local authorities have seen an increase in core spending power of up to £5.1bn or 9.4% in cash terms on 2022-23, with almost £60bn available for local government in England.

“We stand ready to speak to any council that has concerns about its ability to manage its finances or faces pressures it has not planned for.”

The local government finance settlement for 2024-25 is set to be published later in the year.

Residents plagued by years of ‘putrid’ stink and noise from a plant on the outskirts of Exeter that turns pig slurry into renewable energy can look forward to the slurry tank being covered by a lid designed to contain its smells.

Guy Henderson, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

The anaerobic digester near Clyst St Mary (image courtesy: East Devon District Council)

But they will also have to put up with more traffic after East Devon District Council’s planning committee passed a fresh application from the company that runs the plant.

Gorst Energy originally received permission to put a lid on the giant anaerobic digestion tank in 2018, but hasn’t done so yet. The permission lapsed and the company applied again.

It also asked to more than double the amount of crops it can converted into energy for the National Grid.

The digester, which is next door to a pig farm, takes the farm’s slurry along with specially-grown crops to be broken down by bacteria in a large tank. The resulting gas creates energy.

Cllr Steve Gazzard (Lib Dem, Exmouth Withycombe Raleigh) ‘reluctantly’ proposed approval of the plans, adding: “I can’t think of a reason to refuse this.”

A previous application was turned down on appeal because of its effect on the residents of a nearby bungalow, but Gorst Energy has since bought the bungalow and uses it as part of the site.

The land is in open countryside opposite Westpoint, around 500 metres east of Clyst St Mary. Gorst Energy says its proposal will increase efficiency and create more low carbon energy for consumers. There were no objections from the Environment Agency, environmental health officers or highways authorities.

Speaking on behalf of Clyst St Mary residents, Gaeron Kayley said the plant was causing ‘misery’ and there had been ‘literally thousands’ of fruitless complaints to the Environment Agency over the years.

Cllr Mike Howe (Ind, Clyst Valley) said the dome lid should have been installed three years ago when permission was first given. 

“They chose not to do it then because they don’t care about the residents being affected around them,” he said. “Local residents have had enough.

“I have been dealing with this site for over 10 years, and we have not been able to get any enforcement action on noise or smell. There is no control.”

Cllr Ian Barlow (Ind, Sidmouth Town) told the meeting: “This isn’t about being green, it’s about making money.” And Cllr John Heath (Ind, Beer and Branscombe) said the noise from the plant was ‘a form of psychological torture’ for its neighbours.

David Manley, representing Gorst Energy, pointed out that the planning inspector had already said the changes could be made without causing nuisance, and there were already stringent controls around its operations.

Darren Stockley of its parent company Ixora Energy said the changes would bring additional benefits and around £4 million a year to the local economy.

“We take very seriously any complaints about noise, odour and traffic,” he said. “We do all we can to engage with the community. We also try to act on any concerns raised to us.

“And the last 18 months have shown just how important reliable, renewable, local energy is rather than having to rely on Russia and Norway.”

Members agreed by a majority to approve the plans subject to a number of conditions.