Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Not Addressed
Publish criteria and accountability mechanisms for Secretary of State's EDP improvement test decisions.
Recommendation
In the interest of transparency, in response to this report, MHCLG and DEFRA should publish the criteria the Secretary of State will use to determine whether an EDP has passed the overall improvement test or not. It should also set out mechanisms as to how decisions made by the Secretary of State could be scrutinised and held accountable. (Recommendation, Paragraph 80)
Government Response Summary
The government's response discusses controlling costs and ensuring effective implementation of on-site Biodiversity Net Gain, including consultations on estate management companies, but does not address the recommendation to publish criteria for the Environmental Delivery Plan's overall improvement test or accountability mechanisms for the Secretary of State.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
54. The Government recognises the importance of controlling the long-term costs and ensuring the effective implementation of on-site BNG. We are committed to ensuring that BNG is delivered without imposing unreasonable costs on households. 55. We are taking steps to address the related issue of privately managed estates, which often oversee BNG areas and can lead to unfair charges for residents. On 18 December 2025 the Government published two consultations on options to reduce the prevalence of estate management companies; and separate consultation on implementing enhanced protections for homeowners on freehold estates in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. This will create a new regulatory framework that will make estate management companies more accountable to homeowners for how their money is spent. These consultations build upon the recommendations of the Competition and Market’s Authority 2024 housebuilding market report to reduce consumer detriment on privately managed housing estates. 56. In addition, on 4 September 2025, the Law Commission published its 14th Programme of Law Reform, included in the Programme is a project on the management of housing estates. The project will consider how residents could be given greater control over the management of their housing estates. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government supports the inclusion of the project in the Programme and is proud to be the sponsoring department for the project.