Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey has quit as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this week, she said that “now is the right time to step back from government”. Former insurance company solicitor Steve Barclay is the new Environment Secretary, becoming the fourth postholder […]
Last week’s news included an investigation by the Guardian suggesting that the Government could abandon Water Framework Directive standards in England. Defra and the Environment Agency have said that the investigation is inaccurate, claiming that no decision to diverge from EU standards on water quality monitoring has been made and stressing a continuing commitment to […]
Ministers and government departments have a new legal obligation to consider the impact their policies will have on the environment, as the Environmental Principles Policy Statement (EPPS) comes into effect. Under the duty, ministers and policy makers must consider the environmental impact of new policies, following a framework of key principles: The integration principle, which […]
An exclusive investigation by the Guardian suggests England is to diverge from EU water monitoring standards. Campaigners fear the change of approach could lead to more pollution in England’s rivers and waterways if the new measuring methods are less rigorous. While in the EU, England was covered by the water framework directive (WFD), and a […]
The government has published its response to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) 2023 progress report. The CCC’s report was scathing, saying progress was slow and the publication of the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan (CBDP), setting out how the government plans to get to Net Zero, raised further concerns, with reduced confidence in the UK […]
The Westminster government has announced that the introduction of mandatory biodiversity net gain (BNG) in England has been delayed from November until January for larger sites developed through the town and country planning system, and April 2024 for small sites. BNG will not be mandatory for national infrastructure projects until 2025. The delay has not […]
Last week saw the publication by Ofwat of the Water Company Performance Report 2022-23, which focused on the £114mn that companies will be forced to pay back customers for poor performance. The Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has issued a strongly worded statement, calling the “extremely disappointing”. She says: “While I acknowledge there is good work […]
Last week’s speech by the Prime Minister on Net Zero provoked criticism from many organisations and commentators, but Kathryn Brown at the Wildlife Trusts wrote a great deconstruction of the government’s muddled thinking on climate change and the environment. Key points The government’s announcement will significantly increase household energy bills The Prime Minister will scrap […]