Source · National Audit Office

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

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

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

Rec	Recommendation	Addressee	Acceptance	Implementation
1	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; Ref Page 13, paragraph 27, first bullet point · Implemented Q2 2022-23	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
2	• develop detailed plans that go beyond its short-term delivery priorities based on robust delivery schedules and a long-term detailed critical path; Ref Page 13, paragraph 27, second bullet point · Implemented Q3 2023-24	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
3	• 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; Ref Page 13, paragraph 27, third bullet point · Implemented Q4 2021-22	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
4	• 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; Ref Page 13, paragraph 27, fourth bullet point · Implemented Q4 2021-22	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
5	• 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; Ref Page 13, paragraph 27, fifth bullet point	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	Rejected	—
6	• 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 Ref Page 13, paragraph 27, sixth bullet point · Implemented Q1 2022-23	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
7	• 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. Ref Page 13, paragraph 27, seventh bullet point · Implemented Q3 2023-24	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	Accepted	Implemented ✓ 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.

9 Jan 2022 Public Accounts C… Thirty-First Report - Environmental Land Management Scheme — 19 recommendations · parliament.uk