Rapid review ordered as latest Environmental Improvement Plan progress report shows mixed results

A "rapid review" of the Government's 2023 Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) has been ordered by Steve Reed MP, the Environment Secretary.

According to the Secretary of State, the review will focus on "cleaning up our waterways, reducing waste across the economy, planting millions more trees, improving air quality and halting the decline in species by 2030."

The outcome of this review will inform a new, statutory plan to deliver the legally binding targets of the 2021 Environment Act.

The 2023 EIP supports the Act by setting out 10 goals, each one underpinned by specific targets and commitments presented as 66 indicators.

Vicky Robinson, Head of Sustainability at the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC), commented: "We welcome the speed of this review.

"However, we must get to a point where there is more stability in government policies to create the confidence and certainty the industry needs to deliver for the food and environment."

Mixed progress

The announcement coincided with the publication of the annual EIP progress report which showed a mixed bag of results against these goals, with some improvement in certain areas and a deterioration of the indicators, as illustrated in the graph below.

Those indicators shown as "not assessed" have not had enough time for an assessment to be made. For example, there are three indicators published against goal 8, all of which cannot yet allow for a robust assessment of overall trends.

With the review expected to be completed by the end of the year, it signals a commitment from the UK Government to protect and restore the natural environment.

The Environment Secretary said: "Nature underpins everything - the economy, food, health and society - but we stand at a moment in history when nature needs us to defend it."

Read the Environmental Improvement Plan: annual progress report 2023 to 2024 in full by visiting GOV.UK.

Author

Vicky Robinson

Head of Sustainability, AIC

Vicky Robinson is Head of Sustainability and is responsible for leading and co-ordinating AIC's work on sustainability. 

A 2019 Nuffield Scholar, Vicky was previously Technical Director at Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF), which followed 22 years working for Natural England and its predecessors on agri-environment delivery, policy development and implementation.

Email:

[email protected]

Phone:

01733 385230

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