08 Mar 2018

This is a truly astonishing speech which goes to the heart of the privatisation model. Nor is there any doubt about the driver for this which is the Labour Party commitment to renationalise the water industry. The Gove speech and the follow-up from Jonson Cox at Ofwat outline a very different scenario from business as […]

08 Mar 2018

Work is underway to restore peatlands to their natural state across Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire after £160,000 of funding was secured through the Department Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Environment Agency will be working with a number of partners including Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Warrington Borough Council and United Utilities at six sites. The […]

28 Feb 2018

Defra Leaving the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy will give us the chance for reform. We want to know your thoughts on the future of agricultural policy in England. Click here to see the consultation document and supporting reports including one on ‘The Future of Farming and Environment – Evidence Compendium’ Once-in-a-generation opportunity […]

26 Feb 2018

4th Special Report – Plastic bottles: Turning Back the Plastic Tide: Government Response to the Committee’s First Report  The Environmental Audit Committee publishes the Government response to the Environmental Audit Committee’s report, Plastic Bottles: Turning Back the Plastic Tide. Download the Government response: Plastic bottles: Turning Back the Plastic Tide (PDF 174 KB) Read the […]

21 Feb 2018

The charm offensive goes on with major speeches from Michael Gove and David Davis. Just as with Boris’s speech last week they are very thin on the detail of what trade deal they want. It is the detail and content that people need now as the NFU President outlines. Below Defra are spending £245m more […]

19 Feb 2018

Steve Hull, ABPmer The long awaited UK Government’s 25 year Environment Plan was published in January. This makes some interesting and welcome general commitments: We will set gold standards in protecting and growing natural capital – leading the world in using this approach as a tool in decision-making. We will seek to embed a ‘net […]

01 Feb 2018

The EAC inquiry so soon after publication can’t be what Defra had hoped for, but it’s what happens if you don’t get the process right – not consulting on it for example. Although it is a ‘short inquiry’ people should take the chance to tell EAC what they think of the plan. There are six […]