OEP sets out environmental improvement priorities

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has identified five priority actions for the government to consider as it conducts its rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP).

Following a request for advice from Defra, the OEP said the following five actions would contribute to meeting a number of environmental targets and green priorities:

• Get nature friendly farming right.

• Maximise the contribution from protected wildlife sites.

• Speed up action in marine environments.

• Set out clear mechanisms for reconciling competing demands for use of land and seas.

• Develop a circular economy framework. 

The watchdog added a further three cross-cutting priorities: 

• Mobilise investment at scale – private and public – with strong incentives, oversight and regulation.

• Regulate effectively – including, OEP chair Dame Glenys Stacey said, by using “harder-edged regulatory tools and incentives” and by considering “more radical solutions" to drive nature recovery and tree planting at scale. 

• Harness support from stakeholders – via high level leadership, transparency and better communications, including on "who will do what, how much and by when and detail what the intended outcomes of actions are”. 

The OEP told the previous government it was “largely off track” to meet its environmental ambitions and called for action to be speeded up and scaled up, and to make sure actions stacked up. 

• Dame Glenys made among the following points in her speech last week to the Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport Forum: 

• The OEP’s Water Framework Directive report – this found that in the worst case, we will see just 21% of surface waters in good ecological state by 2027, representing only a 5% improvement since they were last assessed in 2021 and way off the 77% targeted. Dame Glenys said it was positive the government has accepted the OEP’s key conclusions and committed to work constructively. “But there are some things that are perhaps not as we would wish. The response does not address each of our [15] recommendations individually, instead indicating some will be considered as part of the review [of the water sector and its regulation to take place in autumn]. While we of course welcome the review, it should not delay the urgent actions needed to address our recommendations. Our report identified a number of areas of possible non-compliance with environmental law. We will take this response into account as we decide whether any further action is required.”

• CSO investigation – the OEP issued notices to Defra, Ofwat and the EA identifying possible failures to comply with environmental law in relation to the regulation of combined sewer overflows (CSOs), mostly relating to how the exceptional circumstances in which spills are permitted have been interpreted. Dame Glenys said: “We are now actively engaging with the three agencies, seeking a resolution that provides the best outcome for the environment. Of course, if court action is required, that remains an option to us.” 

• Bathing waters – the OEP will be issuing a report on this soon. 

• New government – there are positive signs and much to welcome. “I am delighted by that. But also wary. What has not changed is the scale and complexity of the problem to be fixed, and the potential cost of doing so. This remains a huge challenge.” She called for transparency and collaboration, commenting: "It won’t be plain sailing, but we must all get in the boat.”