To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (i) why £1.5 million was cut from the research & development and staff budgets relating to climate change for the 2020/21 financial year; (ii) for his assessment on how this decision will impact his Department's efforts to respond to the climate change threat.

As part of the 2020-21 June Monitoring Round, my Department declared £1.5m of the Climate Change Capital budget as part of the £12.7m total DAERA Capital reduced requirements. The £1.5m included £1.0m for ICT (the development of an ICT platform to support Climate Change) and £0.5m for Research & Development (R&D). This budget was allocated in late March at the time the COVID-19 pandemic was developing and DAERA has not been able to proceed as anticipated. My Department will of course keep this matter under review as the year progresses.

Although the above funding was declared as a reduced requirement my Department will still take forward tackling plastic pollution to support the UK Plastics Pact and establishing a grants panel for future capital funding to tackle marine litter. DAERA will also continue to carry out its duties to meet the requirements of the UK Climate change Act 2008, which will include actions to adapt to a changing climate and reduce emissions to sectors for which my Department has responsibility, for example, in agriculture, land use change and forestry, and waste sectors. DAERA continues to fund Climate NI to increase adaptation awareness and action in the Non-Government Sectors and is also exploring how the Climate NI platform could be used to provide Climate Change Mitigation advice and guidance to Non-Government sectors including Local Government.