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Source · National Audit Office

The Environmental Land Management scheme

This report examines the strategic management of the Environmental Land Management scheme.

Published: 15 Sep 2021 Recommendations: 7 Type: Value for Money NAO confirmed: 6 Department: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Dept: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Topics: Climate change and net zeroEnergy and environmentEnvironmental sustainabilityFood and farmingRural and countryside nao.org.uk →

Recommendations

7 items
6 accepted 1 rejected 6 implemented

Recommendation 1

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 13, paragraph 27, first bullet point

Defra should:
• urgently agree a clear, realistic and logical set of strategic objectives for ELM, as required by HM Treasury; this should include developing its understanding of how it will prioritise its objectives and a plan to measure what is achieved against these objectives;

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q2 2022-23 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 2

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 13, paragraph 27, second bullet point

• develop detailed plans that go beyond its short-term delivery priorities based on robust delivery schedules and a long-term detailed critical path;

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q3 2023-24 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 3

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 13, paragraph 27, third bullet point

• regularly check deliverability leading up to the full launch of ELM in 2024; in particular, it should closely monitor the feasibility of delivering SFI2022 on time, based on a better understanding of how long individual tasks will take and what indicators should trigger a delay to the launch of SFI2022;

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q4 2021-22 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 4

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 13, paragraph 27, fourth bullet point

• assess which elements of SFI2022 will not be fully tested before its launch and ensure appropriate mitigations are in place for the risks associated with rolling out the new scheme without full testing;

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q4 2021-22 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 5

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 13, paragraph 27, fifth bullet point

• identify the underlying reasons for the lower-than-expected level of interest in joining the first cohort of the pilot and develop measures to ensure future
invitations achieve a better response across a wide range of farmers, targeting particular groups, if necessary;

Response position: Rejected

Delivery: No implementation status recorded

Recommendation 6

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 13, paragraph 27, sixth bullet point

• produce a clear plan, building on the work it has started, for how administrative savings will be achieved, including a timetable and who is accountable for delivery, and how its success will be measured; and

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q1 2022-23 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 7

Addressee: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs · Source location: Page 13, paragraph 27, seventh bullet point

• develop detailed operational procedures against the fraud and error risks identified, and a plan to show how it will achieve and assess progress against its fraud and error objectives.

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q3 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.