South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge has set out his stall after being petitioned to speak up for a stronger Envirnmental Bill.

Shotley Peninsula residents responded to a plea by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, highlighted in Nub News, calling on Mr Cartlidge to speak in Parliament for an Environment Bill that is strong enough to make a meaningful difference in setting ambitious targets and holding MPs to account.

Mr Cartlidge, who was today named as parliamentary private secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, is confident the Bill will achieve many of those aims.

In his letter to petitioners Mr Cartlidge wrote: "Food and farming are a bedrock of our economy and environment, generating £112 billion a year and helping shape some of our finest habitats and landscapes.

"I am pleased that the Government are committed to matching the current budget available to farmers in every year of this Parliament, providing certainty and stability. Strong protections are already in place for our wildlife habitats.

"The designated sites network protects over 1 million hectares of our best meadows, bogs, woodland, heathland and other wildlife-rich habitat. The 25 Year Environment Plan sets out the Government's plans for nature recovery.

"Having left the Common Agricultural Policy, we can move away from direct payments based on land holdings to a system of paying farmers public money for public goods: principally environmental enhancement. 

"I am pleased that the Environment Bill will ensure the environment is at the heart of all policy making and that this and future governments are held to account if they fail to uphold their environmental duties.

"These will include meeting net-zero by 2050, as well as wider long-term legally binding targets on biodiversity, air quality, water, and resource and waste efficiency which will be established under the Bill. 

"Further, the Agriculture Bill will set out an ambitious new agricultural system. The new system will enrich wildlife habitats, improve the quality of air, water and soil, contribute to reducing flood risk, and reduce and mitigate climate change.

"We will be able to protect the health of our plants and trees better and enable farmers to enhance further our world-renowned reputation for high standards of animal health and welfare. The Bill sets out how farmers and land managers in England will be paid public money for "public goods," rewarding them for the work they do to safeguard our environment.

"This will help our country meet crucial goals on climate change and protecting nature and biodiversity Our wildlife habitat mapping is improving. Natural England already publishes national inventories of priority habitats, including meadows on the Government's open data portal at https://data.gov.uk/. Defra also invested £200,000 on developing a 'living' habitat map for England using satellite data, showing meadows and other wildflower-rich habitats."

The Shotley Peninsula has numerous environmentally sensitive areas. It is home to the Stour Estuary RSPB, swathes of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Ramsar sites, Sites of Scientific Interest and Alton Water. It also hosts various environmentally aware groups such as the Viking Project, Scattered Orchard, Shotley Open Spaces supported by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, and Natural England.