As Defra and the two largest environmental regulators, the Environment Agency (EA) and Natural England (NE), embark on a period of reform they face several challenges, and success will depend on a joined-up, strategic approach, says the National Audit Office (NAO) in a new report.

Correspondence released by the House of Commons Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee yesterday evening has raised even more questions for the Chair and CEO of Thames Water to answer about the water company’s financial affairs – and the Committee has now further extended its questions about their recent evidence to Environment Secretary Steve Reed and Ofwat Chief Executive David Black.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee will hear evidence in person later today from senior executives at Ofwat, Water UK, CCW, DEFRA and the Environment Agency as part of its current inquiry into water sector regulation.

With record numbers of farm businesses in farming schemes and the sustainable farming budget successfully allocated, on Tuesday the Government announced that it has stopped accepting new applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI24) with immediate effect.  

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has identified possible failures to comply with environmental law by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency and Ofwat in relation to the regulation of combined sewer overflows (CSOs).  

The National Audit Office (NAO) is warning of serious weaknesses which are currently limiting the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs’ ability to make evidence-based decisions about where to deploy its resources, and to understand wider impacts of its regulatory approach.

The Office for Environmental (OEP) has announced that it is to carry out an investigation into the roles of Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Defra Secretary of State in the regulation of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) in England.

A new report by the National Audit Office (NAO) finds that while the government is on track to achieve its target for better protecting 300,000 more homes from flooding by March 2021, it does not have a comprehensive measure of its progress in reducing the overall level of flood risk across England.

The National Audit Office has raised wide-ranging concerns warning that without clear plans and goals, the Government risks failing to achieve its 25 year environmental targets set out in its 25 year plan.

A new report published today by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee is warning of a serious risk that some parts of England will run out of water within the next 20 years – and accuses all the bodies responsible for the UK’s water supply – Defra, Ofwat and the Environment Agency –of having “taken their eye off the ball.”