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Source · National Audit Office

Achieving government’s long-term environmental goals

This report examines how government has set itself up to deliver its long-term environmental goals.

Published: 11 Nov 2020 Recommendations: 13 Type: Value for Money NAO confirmed: 11 Department: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Dept: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Topics: Climate change and net zeroEnergy and environmentEnvironmental sustainabilityPollution and environmental qualityRural and countrysideWaste and recycling nao.org.uk → PDF →

Recommendations

13 items
12 accepted 1 partially accepted 11 implemented 2 in progress

Recommendation 1

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 10, paragraph 12, first bullet point

We recommend that government:
• clarifies its environmental ambitions so that by the time it puts forward new legislative targets (in October 2022), these are part of a coherent suite of objectives that set specific and measurable ambitions for medium-term (2030) and long-term (2040 onwards) outcomes for each of its environmental goals;

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q4 2022-23 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 2

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 10, paragraph 12, second bullet point

• develops a delivery plan for how the planned outcomes are to be achieved. This should set out the firm and funded actions that government has planned, and explicitly state whether government expects these are likely to be sufficient to put progress on track to meet the outcomes. Where there are gaps, government should set out how and when it expects to make decisions to fill these. This plan should also set interim milestones by which progress can be monitored, covering medium-term outputs (up to 2030); and

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q3 2025-26 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 3

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 10, paragraph 12, third bullet point

• assesses the short-, medium- and long-term costs of this delivery plan to ensure that Defra and HM Treasury have a shared view of the associated costs and how these might be financed.

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q3 2025-26 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 4

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 11, paragraph 14, first bullet point

We recommend that Defra:
• maps out the most significant interdependencies between the goals in the 25 Year Environment Plan and sets out how decisions about any significant trade-offs will be made, and by who; and

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q3 2025-26 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 5

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 11, paragraph 14, second bullet point

• defines the values and behaviours that will support delivery of its environmental goals, reviews how closely these align with its current working culture and sets out plans for improving and monitoring progress.

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q3 2025-26 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 6

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 12, paragraph 15, first bullet point, parts a,b, and c

We recommend that Cabinet Office and Defra:
• review and improve arrangements for engaging departments outside Defra on the Plan. This should involve:
a) mapping out the areas where other departments have a critical role to play;
b) establishing clear expectations for these departments’ contributions to improving performance, and how this will be measured and monitored; and
c) strengthening coordination and oversight arrangements where appropriate, particularly for climate change adaptation and domestic biodiversity.

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q3 2025-26 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 7

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 12, paragraph 16, first bullet point

We recommend that Defra:
• prioritises its behaviour change strategy work to capitalise on positive behaviour changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to build links with related behaviour change work being carried out with other parts of government.

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q4 2024-25 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 8

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 13, paragraph 17, first bullet point, parts a and b

We recommend that Defra, working with Cabinet Office and HM Treasury:
• develops a strategy for ensuring that the right skills and resources are available to meet government’s environmental ambitions. This should include:
a) a published analysis of how government will ensure that key delivery partners, including local authorities and Defra’s arm’s-length bodies, have appropriate funds to fulfil their environmental responsibilities; and
b) a review of the factors that led to high turnover among the senior responsible owners for the Plan, and how these factors may be mitigated in future.

Response position: Partially accepted

Delivery: In progress · Not completed

Recommendation 9

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 14, paragraph 18, first bullet point

We recommend that government:
• sets a deadline for securing a full set of outcome-focused environmental indicators, with data, and that Defra’s Environment Committee monitors progress against this deadline, taking swift action if things fall behind.

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q3 2024-25 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 10

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 14, paragraph 19, first bullet point

We recommend that Defra, working with Cabinet Office and HM Treasury:
• monitors annual costs and spend on key environmental initiatives across government, alongside the benefits they achieve, as part of developing performance reporting against the Plan.

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: In progress · Q1 2026-27

Recommendation 11

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 15, paragraph 21, first bullet point

We reiterate our recommendation that government:
• continues to strengthen safeguards for OEP’s independence, by developing a clear framework document for the terms of its relationship with Defra, and by setting out Parliament’s ongoing role in reviewing OEP’s funding and leadership.

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q2 2026-27 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 12

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 15, paragraph 21, second bullet point

We also recommend that Defra:
• continues to develop its public reporting of progress, including by incorporating reporting against a comprehensive set of interim milestones as soon as these are available; and

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q3 2025-26 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 13

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 15, paragraph 21, third bullet point

• includes in its progress reports an appendix showing how it has responded to any recommendations made by the OEP.

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q4 2023-24 · Confirmed by NAO

Public Accounts Committee follow-up

1 report

The Public Accounts Committee examined this NAO report and published its own recommendations. The government responds to PAC recommendations via Treasury Minutes.