The waste management institute CIWM reports that the Environment Agency and Natural England, along with the Forestry Commission, are working with Defra on the approach to a 25 year plan for the environment. 

To help support the 25 year plan, strengthen relationships with local partners and enable integrated decisions that deliver the best environmental improvements, the Environment Agency and Natural England are producing joint plans for 14 new aligned areas covering England.

“We are also working with the Forestry Commission’s Forest Services to integrate our collective work and priorities across the new 14 areas,” the Environment Agency wrote in a letter to stakeholders.

“We have updated the information available on GOV.UK and revisions to our operational arrangements will be complete by April 2017.

“This change will not affect the day-to-day service we provide. Our local contacts will continue to work with your local representatives on existing projects and partnerships and to explore new opportunities.

“If you have any questions on the new boundaries or the local plans and budgets, please get in touch with your local Environment Agency or Natural England representative,” the letter stated.

Defra’s 25 Year Plan

The Department announced this year that it would publish a 25-year environment plan by the end of the year (2016). It was intended Defra would work with the Natural Capital Committee to develop a comprehensive 25-year plan for the environment that aims to:

• help ensure the environment is appropriately maintained and improved so it flourishes and continues to underpin our economic success and wellbeing
• develop the structures and tools to draw together economic, social and scientific evidence and provide practical approaches to enable people to value nature systematically and fully when they are making decisions on the ground and to ensure we get the greatest value from both public and private investment
• integrate delivery and decision-making on environmental quality by using catchments as the building block, driven by local join-up, Defra’s organisational reform and robust action at local level
• bring together business, environmental non-governmental organisations and others to deliver improvements to the environment, harnessing people’s enthusiasm and connecting people with nature

Following the UK vote to leave the EU, the Department announced it would be delaying the publication of the plan.

In a letter to stakeholders, Defra explained that the original timings of the framework and the subsequent Plan “did not take into account [Britain’s] decision to leave the EU. As a result we will not be publishing the framework this summer or the plan by the end of the year”.