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The Environment Agency is the leading public body protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales. It is the second largest agency of its type in the world and the largest in Europe. Ten years after its creation, a review of the Agency's effectiveness and funding, and its relationships with Defra and other key bodies, is opportune.
The Agency's involvement in environmental protection and conservation has increased considerably over the past ten years. Stakeholders are concerned that the Agency is experiencing difficulties managing its wide range of responsibilities and, in particular, that it is struggling to combine its regulatory role with that of 'Champion of the Environment'. Defra should examine whether the Agency is adequately equipped for the cross-cutting environmental challenges facing it, not least its important role as environmental champion and how it balances this with its regulatory role. In particular, the Agency's capability to address the challenges that climate change poses for its areas of responsibility should be fully explored.
A strong case exists for placing more of the burden of enforcement costs onto fines, rather than charges. Fines for environmental offences are still relatively small and often do not reflect the severity of the offence. We also believe that consistency in sentencing of environmental crimes should be improved, and therefore support the Agency's proposal that a team of magistrates be trained specifically to deal with environmental cases. Defra should set out its proposals on the roles to be played by other branches of Government in devising ways in improving the system by which the courts administer environmental prosecutions.
We are extremely concerned that the Agency is experiencing difficulties recruiting specialist staff, such as flood risk engineers, hydrologists and geomorphologists. The Agency should issue a work plan with specific deadlines to set out how it aims to solve its recruitment problems, and publish details about its future graduate requirements. We welcome the Government's recent funding increases to the Agency in relation to its flood defence work. However, flooding risks will only increase in the future due to the effects of climate change. The Government should aim to increase the Agency's funding in this area to £1 billion per year in the long term.
We welcome the progress made by officials in the Agency and the Natural England Partnership in establishing a close and constructive working relationship. We are concerned, however, that tensions already exist relating to the potential use of the agri-environment budget. Defra should provide Natural England with clear guidance on using this agri-environmental funding to achieve both organisations' objectives.
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