The UK’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has raised serious concerns over the ability of environmental regulators and government to meet their existing responsibilities while delivering a programme of major reforms.
In a newly published report, MPs conclude that the current regulatory system requires “substantial changes” and is failing to effectively support either nature recovery or economic growth.
A key focus of the report is the growing problem of illegal waste dumping. The committee warns that the scale of illegal waste sites has outstripped the enforcement powers of the Environment Agency (EA), which is currently limited to pursuing lengthy and costly criminal prosecutions rather than using civil sanctions.
The PAC also highlights intelligence gaps in tackling waste crime. It points to a case in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, where the EA acted quickly once it received “confirmed intelligence”, despite local bodies having been aware of the issue for weeks. MPs say this underlines the need for closer cooperation between the EA, police and local authorities—something the report suggests is currently lacking.
The report comes as the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), the EA and Natural England attempt to implement 149 recommendations from multiple independent reviews. However, the PAC finds that this volume of reform activity appears poorly coordinated and questions whether regulators have the resources and expertise required.
MPs are calling on Defra to produce a detailed plan outlining how it will reshape the regulatory landscape and ensure bodies are adequately resourced. The committee also suggests that the government should consider merging the regulatory responsibilities of Natural England and the EA, arguing that overlapping functions could be streamlined under a single organisational structure.
The PAC’s inquiry further found that a lack of strategic direction from Defra is limiting regulators’ ability to plan effectively and allocate resources. Businesses, particularly in the farming sector, are not receiving sufficient guidance to comply with environmental rules, the report says.
Farmers are also facing increasing complexity from upcoming policy changes, including reforms to environmental land management schemes, a 25-year vision for agriculture, and the creation of a new water regulator. The PAC recommends that government assess the cumulative impact of these changes and ensure adequate support is provided.
Concerns were also raised about the government’s Nature Restoration Fund, which is intended to finance environmental improvements linked to development. While potentially innovative, the committee warns the scheme could introduce further barriers to responsible development if not carefully managed.
Chair’s comments
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said:
“The UK has obvious and glaring problems with how environmental regulation is delivered. This, tragically, is a given.
“The public does not need our Committee to remind it of ongoing issues with illegal waste dumping and sewage pollution of our rivers, nor do farmers need reminding of the complexity of the systems within which they are obliged to work.
“This is why regulators are drowning in recommendations from multiple reviews, and why we can expect a new water regulator. Our report finds that the current position that regulators are not sufficiently resourced to follow this multiplicity of recommendations, while still carrying out their responsibilities towards the environment.
“One obvious solution to reduce the complexity which government should consider would be a merging of the responsibilities of Natural England and the Environment Agency (EA).
“Whilst they do have slightly different roles in regulating the environment, some of their larger functions, such as monitoring the planning system and taking enforcement action significantly overlap. A single culture would be able to more coherently face outwards towards sectors that need to engage.
“It is welcome to hear the government will be attempting to arm the EA and councils with greater powers of enforcement, but without deeper co-operation with police and local authorities, illegal waste is still liable to be an out-of-control plague on our communities.
“The Nature Restoration Fund is also in our Committee’s sights in the future, as a potentially innovative scheme but with real risks of presenting another layer of obstacles for responsible development. Our inquiry finds an overall unfocused picture for environmental regulation. The government must work to bring it into sharp focus.”
