Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 23
74th Report - Environmental regulation
Published 25 Mar 2026
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Environmental regulation All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
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 to the ones it currently interacts with, which risks increasing complexity further.
From: Public Accounts Committee, 74th Report - Environmental regulation (HC 1687), 25 March 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 1 June 2026 (deadline 25 May 2026).