Dame Glenys Stacey, Chair of the OEP, speaking at the launch of the OEP report, ' Progress in improving the natural environment in England 2023-2024' on January 16, 2025:
Good morning to you all, and I must echo what Natalie (Prosser, CEO) said (in her welcoming remarks), it is a real pleasure to see you all here for what is now an annual event – the launch of our EIP progress report.
A lot has changed since our last report. But the more things change, the more they stay the same, as they say .
We have a new government, and much to welcome in what has been said so far, and some things have been done as well.
But the legal obligations, the established statutory targets and commitments, remain and endure. Which is why our independent assessment of progress remains so important. Perhaps - at times of transition, and in straightened times - more so than ever.
The headline from our latest assessment – for the 12 months up to March 2024 - remains that Government is off track to achieve its environmental goals and targets. And while there were some areas of improvement, we find less progress in this assessment period than in the year before. In areas where we had seen improvement – in air quality for example - this year we have seen a reduction in pace, in activity. A regrettable loss of momentum.
So, the new Government – if we can still call it that - has a job to do. It must catch up. Recover the lost ground and get on track. Catch up not just by developing plans, but then by fully and effectively implementing them.
Yes, the challenge is daunting, but it is not unsurmountable. The trajectory we are on can be changed. But that window of opportunity is closing fast.
Key targets, they are very close now. Unless things change, those such as the 30 by 30 target on land and sea will not be met. There are also Water Framework Directive targets due in 2027 – we have reported previously on the poor prospects of achieving these – EIP interim targets in 2028 and air emission targets in 2029 and 30.
This is why the review of the EIP being carried out now is so pivotal. Government must get it right.
We know there are other pressures, of course, and government has aspirations for growth and for housing and in other areas as well. But the revised EIP will be this nation’s plan for the environment, the plan this government has to drive home the necessary changes and the plan this government must resource and deliver.
The new EIP must show real intent, and focus. It must go beyond existing policies and actions, to make binding statutory targets and other commitments a reality.
We welcomed the opportunity to provide advice on the rapid review of the EIP.
Our advice built on the recommendations we had already made through our programme to track progress against the current EIP. We were clear about the need for effective prioritisation of actions that will have the most impact across goal areas and targets, front loading efforts to catch up but also making full use of the timespan of the plan to phase actions.
And we once again emphasised the pressing imperative for transparent delivery planning, making clear to all what has to be done, by whom and by when, with each step explicitly linked to specific targets or commitments, and quantified wherever possible.
And our advice was that Government must mobilise funding, including private investment; it must regulate more effectively, and it must harness widespread support to ensure the plan succeeds.
Now we build further on that advice with the recommendations we make in our report published tomorrow/today/yesterday. You will hear the detail from my colleagues, but I would like to highlight some key points upfront.
Firstly, Government must get nature friendly farming right. It is so key to improving the environment at scale. With tractors on the streets of Westminster, Oxford and elsewhere, relationships are at a low ebb. So much is at stake. Those that drive tractors must also drive change. It does not have to be a straight choice between nature and food production. There is much common ground for the government’s proposed plan for farming to build on.
Protected sites are key. Their contribution must be maximised through enhancing and enforcing legal protections, and correcting underinvestment in site designation.
And I highlight here as well, the exposed state of the marine environment. As Natalie mentioned, just last week we launched an investigation into suspected failures by Defra to take necessary measures to ensure Good Environmental Status was achieved for marine waters by the statutory deadline of December 2020, now well past.
If it turns out, as we believe the available evidence shows, that target was not met, then that’s one apex target already missed. As it is, the milestone of halting damaging activities in Marine Protected areas by the end of 2024 will not have been met either. Government must speed up action here by delivering on overdue Marine Protected Area bylaws and by implementing a new UK Marine Strategy.
Looking more widely, we appreciate that the public purse is stretched to the limit. The financial challenges are very real, but so are the needs of the environment – real and ever more pressing - as our report shows. Government must be clear-sighted now, and look far enough ahead as well. It must use the resource it already has wisely and in line with its priorities for the environment, while also mobilising investment at the scale needed by providing strong incentives, effective oversight and regulation, and certainty.
I said earlier that there was much to welcome in what has been said and done since the new Government came in. We have heard the Secretary of State stating clearly and repeatedly that development and environmental protection should work together and not be at odds with each other. When it comes to action, the Water (special measures) Bill, and the steps taken to end the use of neonicotinoids are welcome. And the Water Commission, and the rapid review of the EIP, these have the real potential to create a step change in environmental protection and improvement.
What we must see now is that groundwork and intent translated to effective delivery. Urgent and decisive action is needed if progress is to improve sufficiently before the window slams shut. Those actions should be driving the much-needed real world improvements to our environment which in turn underpins growth. We need to do better, for our own sake and for future generations.
Thank you.
The report can be found here: This Government has the chance to get on track to meet legal environmental commitments – but the window of opportunity is closing fast warns OEP | Office for Environmental Protection
