Prolonged political uncertainty has seen the Environment Agency (EA) ramp up plans for the possibility of leaving the EU without a deal.
In its Annual Reports and Accounts for 2018-2019, the EA explains it has increased investment around plans for a no-deal scenario, in line with the government’s preparations, but this is placing a significant strain on the organisation.
The EA’s chief executive Sir James Bevan said: “ brought about a unique challenge for us, testing our incident capabilities in a different way – preparing to leave the EU without a deal.
“Since the referendum result the EA has been working to ensure we have a smooth exit from the EU. Alongside this, as Government stepped up its preparation for No Deal, we rightly invested more of our people and time into planning for this scenario.”
EU exit preparations have had a wide-ranging impact, including creating new pressures on local and national resources which have affected the EA’s ability to tackle issues such as waste crime.
According to the report, “putting this effort into managing the consequences of a no deal exit requires us to stop or slow some of our usual work. This and the strain on resources has affected our ability to deliver as we would normally”.
As well as the challenges of delivering contingency preparations for a no-deal Brexit, the report outlines progress the agency has made on the targets set out in the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.
For 2018-19, the EA set an ambitious target of enhancing 2,000km of the water environment. It fell just short of this target, enhancing 1,719km of the water environment through improving infrastructure and treatment facilities to tackle diffuse and source pollution.
The EA aimed to limit serious pollution incidents to 400, but this increased to 493 in 2018-19 from 432 incidents the previous year. According to the EA, this increase was partly due to the prolonged periods of dry and hot weather during the year.
The EA also failed to meet its target of 196 high risk illegal waste sites. Despite receiving additional investment from government and hiring more staff to deliver this goal, the number of high risk illegal waste sites reached 250. This was a reduction from 259 last year and the EA anticipates an improved performance for the next financial year as additional staffing is now largely in place.
During 2018-19, the organisation exceeded its target of 410 hectares of new priority habitats, delivering 460 hectares. It also reduced the risk of flooding for more households, delivering better protection for 50,754 homes during 2018-19.
The EA also maintained 97.9 per cent of flood and coastal risk management assets at their required condition for high consequence systems. The number of assets above the required condition has also increased by over 1,600 this financial year. This is a result of increased funding in asset management and directly allocating this funding to where it has the greatest benefit.
The organisation is also focused on its own environment impact, having reduced its carbon footprint by 48 per cent against its 2006-07 baseline year, compared to a target of 45 per cent.
Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the EA, said: “Over the past year, the Environment Agency has shown how committed it is to addressing both the causes and impacts of the climate emergency, while demonstrating the links between sustainability and business opportunities by mirroring the vision set out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
“This report demonstrates how we are also achieving the goals of the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan by enhancing habitats and protecting communities from flooding, while creating better places for people and wildlife, regulating industry and supporting economic prosperity.”
The EA’s annual expenditure for the financial year ended 31 March 2019 was £1.4 billion, compared to £1.3 billion for the previous year. The organisation invested £1,395m on the environment in 2018-19, with expenditure on both its grant-in-aid and charge funded activities matching its available funding.
The Agency also reported an increase in full-time equivalent employees to 10,430, compared to 10,043 for the same period last year.