Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much was spent on lead ammunition by her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1999.

Rory Stewart

Defra was created in 2001. It is therefore not possible to provide an answer in respect of the years prior to this. Natural England was established on 1 October 2006, so no data is available until the 2006-07 financial year.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has identified that it has spent £300 on lead ammunition in the past three years, but is unable to provide a breakdown by year. Prior to this, the shooting of pests was outsourced and Kew is unable to identify the cost of ammunition provided through this service.

Financial records do not always specify the type of ammunition purchased or the material from which it was made. Our records – with the caveats above – imply that Natural England has spent an average of £253 per year on lead shot since records began.