Recommendations & Conclusions
30 items
2
Recommendation
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Defra has not set out precisely what environmental regulation should achieve and how the regulators should be set up to achieve this. Regulators currently operate across a complex landscape, with overlapping responsibilities, differing cultures and inconsistent approaches. Yet Defra has not set out clearly what environmental regulation is intended to …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented Defra has set out a clear vision for environmental regulation through the Strategic Policy Statements (SPS) for the Environment Agency and Natural England published on 12 March 2026. These set out …
HM Treasury
3
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Defra and the regulators are still a long way from where they need to be in modernising their IT systems and processes. In 2023, we reported that Defra and its arm’s-length bodies had one of the most significant legacy IT challenges in government, with 300 high-risk legacy IT applications. Since …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented Natural England has assigned a Chief Officer with responsibility for Digital and Data who is leading further development of Natural England's digital and data capability and capacity in collaboration with the …
HM Treasury
4
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Waste regulation as currently set up is not effective enough at stopping waste crime or non-compliance. Regulation of the waste sector is not adequately addressing the rising problem of illegal waste dumping. We are encouraged by the Environment Agency’s recent enforcement action at a permitted landfill site where there was …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee's recommendations. on illegal dumping, setting out government’s intention to strengthen intelligence capabilities to improve the detection of waste crime. Defra is investing in advanced technologies and with NPCC, are reviewing intelligence sharing between the …
HM Treasury
5
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Defra and the regulators are not doing enough to provide guidance and support to help farms and other businesses comply. Most businesses want to comply with environmental regulations, but farmers and other businesses need more assistance than they currently get from the regulators so that it is as easy as …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. support farms into compliance, for example the expansion of the Environment Agency's advice-led approach and improved guidance. To go further, Defra is also working with the Department of Business and Trade and Government …
HM Treasury
6
Recommendation
74th Report - Environmental regulation
The Nature Restoration Fund has potential to benefit the environment and support developers, but we are not yet convinced Defra and Natural England are able to implement it effectively. The Nature Restoration Fund is an innovative solution to raising funds and commissioning projects to improve the environment when building, housing …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) Implementation Plan, published on 18 December 2025, set out the approach to delivering the NRF, including plans for reporting on progress. Natural England is required to …
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency, and Natural England.1
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Committee’s concerns about the effectiveness, coherence and resourcing of environmental regulation. This programme brings together the implementation of recommendations from the Corry Review, the Independent Water Commission, and the internal Optimising Delivery (Hancock) …
HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
After a period of limited change to the regulatory landscape, three major reviews in 2025 made 149 recommendations to Defra or its arm’s-length bodies. Defra told us that a common finding from the reviews was that the regulatory system was not achieving the intended outcomes for the environment or for …
HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Both the regulators and Defra consider the complexity of the legislation under which they operate to be a barrier to improvement.13 The Environment Agency told us that tackling some of the obsolete legislation is a way to it to unblock some of the difficult problems it experiences.14 It described how …
HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Defra already has challenges and pressures over the next few years and has potentially substantial further forthcoming change. Defra assured us that it was able to take on the challenges and that it had the skills and resources to lead these changes.16 Defra will need to prove that it does …
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Environmental regulation is complex, with more than 3,000 separate pieces of legislation and more than 150 pieces of historic regulation on farming alone.20 Each regulator has a wide and complex regulatory remit and applies a range of approaches. The Environment Agency and Natural England, along with other regulatory bodies, have …
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Defra’s approach to environmental regulation has largely been reactive rather than based on a clear strategy and evidence of what is needed. Its regulatory approach has tended to focus on short-term priorities or high- profile issues, as shown by recent increases in farm and water company inspections.23 We asked Defra …
HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
When we asked the regulators what they would most value from Defra to improve the way they can regulate, both responded that they need clarity of outcomes and frameworks, standards and rules, and targets and performance metrics. Natural England told us it wants to know what work it should prioritise, …
HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Defra’s approach to funding the regulators shows that Defra does not always appear to have considered the total costs and benefits of changes. For example, from 2018–19, Defra cut funding for inspections of non- permitted farms before increasing it again from 2020–21.30 Defra explained it has learned from the higher …
HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
In 2023, the previous Committee reported that Defra had one of the most significant legacy IT challenges across government, with a proliferation of outdated applications.33 Data and intelligence gaps still affect the work of the regulators, with their ability to access and use data constrained by outdated IT systems. For …
HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Defra told us that historically the Department and its arm’s-length bodies developed their own IT systems, and these do not always interact easily with each other. Defra told us it had tried to bring these together centrally and that it had made some digital improvements, but it has a long …
HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
The Environment Agency told us it had a large legacy IT problem in 2020, with 700 IT systems in total. It told us it had modernised its systems and closed down 350 applications. It had also improved the transparency of its information by publishing all its reports on water quality. …
HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
We asked how gaps in digital skills affected Defra and the regulators. Defra told us it has the skills at a senior level, with a Chief Digital Information Officer, along with a non-executive board member possessing expertise in digital skills.42 More generally across the organisation, Defra told us that digital …
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
The Environment Agency regulates a range of industrial sectors and various parts of the waste management system, including landfill sites, mining, energy from waste, producer packaging and international waste shipments.44 It issues permits to, and inspects, waste sites. In 2024–25 it inspected 6,618 permitted waste sites.45 The Environment Agency told …
HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
The Environment Agency also has some responsibilities for tackling waste crime. Waste crime refers to, for example, sites which operate without a permit, breaches of permit conditions, fly tipping, and failure to pay landfill tax.48 In 2022, the NAO estimated the cost to the English economy from waste crime to …
HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
The Environment Agency told us that tackling illegal waste sites is also the responsibility of local authorities or the police. The Environment Agency lacks some powers to act, such as civil enforcement powers which are often faster and cheaper than criminal prosecutions.51 The Environment Agency told us about its actions …
HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Enforcement action is sometimes necessary, but it is costly for the regulators and may require court action.54 Enforcement is needed less often when advice, guidance and support help those businesses comply in the first place. Businesses often do not understand what is required of them, find it difficult to locate …
HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Defra told us about ways in which it expects the regulatory burden on farmers to improve in the coming months. It plans to set out a farming roadmap which will present the outcomes it wants to see and how it will measure these.56 It explained this will improve the clarity …
HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Defra will also introduce a single water regulator, which will take on the water-related regulatory functions of Natural England, the Environment Agency, Ofwat and the Drinking Water Inspectorate.59 Government intends to publish a transition plan for the reforms in 2026.60 Farmers will need to engage with this regulator in addition …
HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
The Environment Agency conceded that a lot of guidance is confusing, difficult to follow, and should be revised.61 It described how it had worked to improve how it engages with farmers, such as issuing additional guidance on preparing for an inspection, including video-based guidance and face-to- face discussions through tours …
HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Natural England told us it has made progress in improving its guidance through adding real-life case studies so that businesses can understand what they need to do to comply.66 Defra also explained it has piloted the use of AI tools such as chatbots to help farmers locate the right guidance …
HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
The Planning and Infrastructure Act is a wide-ranging reform of the planning system, intended to accelerate housing delivery and remove barriers to infrastructure development across England. The Act introduces the Nature Restoration Levy, a mechanism which allows developers pay into to the Nature Restoration Fund to discharge their environmental obligations …
HM Treasury
27
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Defra told us that the Nature Restoration Fund is an innovative solution which will unblock developments and also deliver better outcomes for nature.72 It explained that the Fund will allow it to take a wider view of actions it can take to restore nature, rather than the current site-specific solutions …
HM Treasury
28
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
The first step in implementing the Nature Restoration Fund is to produce Environmental Delivery Plans which will set out the nature and scale of mitigation needed in the location where a development happens.74 Natural England told us it is working on the first set of these plans.75 Government expects to …
HM Treasury
29
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Natural England is not meeting its current demands effectively, and new responsibilities it is taking on, such as responsibility for the Nature Restoration Fund, are substantial.77 Capacity and skills gaps are long- 69 Q 56 70 Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, part 3, para 62 71 Planning and Infrastructure Act …
HM Treasury
30
Conclusion
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Statutory biodiversity net gain (BNG) is an existing scheme requiring that developers’ planning applications avoid harm to biodiversity as much as possible and more than offset any harms with biodiversity improvements. In this way, BNG has a similar overall objective to that of the Nature Restoration Fund. Defra has overall …
HM Treasury