The Biodiversity Net Gain Implementation Board met on the 23rd July 2025. 

This note covers updates to the ongoing actions through the now-established BNG Implementation groups.

Focus areas for the next quarter

Communications strategy: A BNG Comms Implementation group has been established to cover the following actions

• Develop a comms plan framework that content can be added to and shared through the Implementation Board members' channels
• Identify target key audiences at a time to focus on disseminating guidance in a way that will reach them, and ensuring it is relevant to their specialism and part of the BNG process. The first identified audiences are SMEs and LPAs
• Each quarter, aim to pick 3-5 key priority messages, then assess their impact and review priorities for the next quarter
• Identify resources that will need updating quickly after the consultation to smooth out any potential changes
• Proactively share case studies with a focus on collecting case studies form SMEs
• The hub is creating a series of knowledge bites which will cover aspects of what people need to know to implement BNG

Offsite Market Implementation Group: Two main actions are being developed to review how the quality of offsite units can be ensured and provide updated advice on what to look for when purchasing BNG units. 

BNG Nature Tech Implementation Group: The group is looking at a way of providing information on consistent data standards to ensure tech is compatible and using the correct standards set in the policy. Tech solutions are being identified to show where there are solutions available to support the elimination of BNG.

BNG and phased Development: A report on the process to comply with BNG on phased developments is being produced to provide to Defra.

Planning Policy Guidance: A small group will review the clarity and wording of the PPG to suggest where clarification could be provided by government to help with the Implementation of BNG. This will support wider updates to the PPG following a number of consultations and planning reforms. 

Next steps following the consultation

The consultation for BNG has now closed, and many responses have been received. The next steps for government will be:

• Review all of the responses 
• Advise ministers following the review. The advice will be related to wider planning reforms and consultations -interconnection is really important between all of the possible planning policy reforms
• Government to provide a response to the consultation
• Next steps after this will depend on the government's response and course of action: Some changes will require changes to secondary legislation and primary legislation changes; Others may be addressed through Planning Policy Guidance