Policy paper

Biodiversity net gain (BNG) statutory credits report: 12 February 2025 to 31 March 2025

Updated 15 June 2026

Applies to England

Headline Summary

£6,740 in revenue was received from statutory biodiversity net gain (BNG) credit sales for development under the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) during the period from 12 February 2025 to 31 March 2025. This means that the total income received through to the end of the 2024 to 2025 financial year was £212,920, inclusive of the amount reported in the first statutory credits annual report published on 14 March 2025.

Scope of Report

This report is the second annual report since mandatory biodiversity net gain (BNG) was introduced in February 2024 which fulfils the Secretary of State’s reporting duty under section 101(8) of the Environment Act 2021. This requires the Secretary of State to publish an annual report on the income received from the statutory credits system and measures funded by expenditure of that income.

Biodiversity net gain (BNG) and statutory credits

BNG is a mandatory obligation set out in the Environment Act 2021. It became compulsory on 12 February 2024 for major TCPA developments and on 2 April 2024 for small sites. BNG stipulates that new development projects must achieve at least a 10% net increase in biodiversity, measured using the official biodiversity metric, comparing baseline conditions before and after development.

The mitigation hierarchy sets out government’s approach for how developers should achieve BNG:

1. A developer should first seek to avoid or mitigate habitat loss on the development site.
2. If that is not possible, the developer can purchase biodiversity units from BNG registered third parties such as habitat banks.
3. If suitable off-site biodiversity units are not available, they can purchase statutory BNG credits from government to achieve their BNG requirements to allow their development to proceed.

Developers wanting to purchase statutory credits must first demonstrate they cannot meet the BNG 10% net increase requirements through on-site or off-site options. This is because buying statutory credits is a last resort option provided by government for developers who are unable to deliver BNG by using on-site measures or off-site units.Make off-site biodiversity gains as a developer - GOV.UK

This report refers to the sale of statutory credits only.

Credits Sales - Overview

Natural England sells statutory credits on behalf of the Secretary of State. Funds from these sales are in accordance with the purposes of habitat enhancement specified in section 101(6) of the Environment Act 2021:

• carrying out works, or securing the carrying out of works, for the purpose of habitat enhancement (under Part 7A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990) on land located in England
• purchasing interests in land located in England with a view to carrying out works, or securing the carrying out of works, for that purpose
• operating or administering the arrangements

The total value of statutory credit payments received during the period reported from 12 February 2025 to March 31 2025 was £6,740. The total income received for the 2024 to 2025 financial year was £212,920, inclusive of the amount reported in the first statutory credits annual report published in March 2025.

The overall level of receipts was as expected, relatively low. This indicates BNG policy continued to operate as expected, with statutory credits being used for their intended purpose as a last resort backstop for the market.

There was no expenditure of BNG credits revenue between 12 February 2025 to 31 March 2025.