Environment Bill will put 25YEP on statutory footing, government tells NCC

The government argued last week that its draft Environment (Principles and Governance) Bill includes measures to place the 25 Year Environment Plan on a meaningful statutory basis, with an obligation for the government to report annually against progress.

It was responding to the Natural Capital Committee’s sixth annual report, which had identified that putting the 25YEP on a meaningful statutory footing in the Environment Bill was its “single most important recommendation”.

Elsewhere, the government detailed its response to the NCC’s 11 other recommendations, which included designating a lead body responsible for the 25YEP; the principles that should underpin the plan’s implementation; and the need for detailed and enforceable milestones.

• DEFRA also published last week the advice in had received from the NCC on three topics: net environmental gain, marine management, and soil management.