This article applies to England only

In July 2024, the Defra Secretary of State announced a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 (EIP23). This is a crucial information-gathering stage of a wider statutory review process, the results of which will be used to inform a revised plan which will be published later this year.  

The review comes at an important juncture for environmental policy. Britain faces significant challenges in nature recovery, with evidence showing concerning levels of biodiversity decline across the country. The revised EIP will aim to address these challenges through more targeted and coordinated action. 

What we discovered so far... 

The rapid review brought together a range of voices and perspectives from government, environmental organisations, businesses, and communities to assess the EIP23’s performance since January 2023, including: 

• progress in delivering the EIP23 planned environmental initiatives since its last review 
• environmental data and indicators of change in the natural environment 
• expected delivery of existing measures against Environment Act targets 

While progress in delivering the EIP23 continues, the review highlighted several key areas where enhancements could strengthen environmental outcomes: 

• Evidence Coordination: opportunities to better co-ordinate evidence with others to better understand where action is needed or can be better targeted/focused 
• Delivery Framework: clearer delivery frameworks and accountability mechanisms in the plan so it is easier to see what and who is contributing to a goal or target 
• Prioritisation processes: a clear process for prioritisation, which could help with assessing competing demands. 
• Stakeholder collaboration: stronger engagement and collaboration with stakeholders 
• Resource management: simplifying sustainable funding approaches and tackling skills and capacity issues 

What happens next... 

As work progresses toward the 2025 revised plan, DEFRA aims to: 

• Clarify the role of cross-cutting enablers for environmental delivery across government and wider society 
• Highlight connections between natural capital protection and broader societal outcomes, including the Government's missions for clean energy and growth 
• Update Environment Act target delivery plans including those for residual waste reduction and corresponding interim targets for the next five-year period, in line with statutory requirements. 
• Clarify roles for government departments, environmental organisations, businesses, farmers, landowners, local authorities and communities 
• Streamline non-statutory commitments to focus on key actions that deliver meaningful environmental improvements 

The rapid review marked the start of a process of engagement in developing a clearer, prioritised plan. We will need to harness the expertise of different sectors as we revise and deliver the EIP. We will continue to expand our stakeholder engagement to do just that. We hope to share specific details for Circular Economy and the waste sector in the coming months 

If you have immediate feedback or queries which you would like to share, please contact your relevant Defra policy official. 

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