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Committee publication · Correspondence · 17 June 2026

Letter to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minster for Nature) relating to the National Security Assessment on global biodiversity loss

From: Environmental Audit Committee

Summary

The Environmental Audit Committee writes to the Minister for Nature requesting access to the full, unabridged National Security Assessment on global biodiversity loss. The committee has been denied repeated requests for the document despite its significance for national security scrutiny, while informal access has reportedly been granted to external groups and media outlets. The committee demands the minister either grant access (confidentially or publicly) or publicly justify the denial.

Key findings

  • A substantial unabridged version of the National Security Assessment on biodiversity loss exists but has not been shared with the committee despite repeated requests.
  • The full document has been informally shared with groups outside government and at least some media outlets, while access has been denied to the Commons committee.
  • The committee views the continued resistance to share even confidentially as unsatisfactory and an impediment to effective parliamentary scrutiny of a matter of significant national security importance.
  • The summary assessment published by government presents 'stark conclusions', but the committee argues the arguments for full access are compelling.

Tone

Critical

Topics

biodiversitynational-securityenvironmental-policyparliamentary-scrutiny

Key actors

Mary Creagh CBE MP, Toby Perkins MP, Environmental Audit Committee, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Notable line

“The continued resistance to share the document with us (even confidentially under established arrangements between the Government and Select Committees) is unsatisfactory …”

Key Quotes

“Despite repeated requests by our staff that the Committee be granted access to the document, that has been denied.”
— Toby Perkins MP · describing access barriers to the unabridged assessment
“We know that the document has been informally shared with groups outside the Government, as well as with at least some media outlets.”
— Toby Perkins MP · highlighting inconsistent access arrangements
“It is unsatisfactory that elements of the unabridged report are being drip-fed, while a Commons Committee is being denied the same access.”
— Toby Perkins MP · expressing concern about selective disclosure
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Source · parliament.uk record ↗