The annual expenditure of £8 million of the Environment Agency on tackling diffuse water pollution of has, to date, had little impact. Looking forward, the development of River Basin Management Plans now offers an opportunity to target work by the Agency and others to improve water quality and tackle this complex problem. In 2009, only 26 per cent of rivers, lakes and other water bodies in England met the required levels of water quality, as set out in the European Water Framework Directive. The Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Agency do not expect that all English water bodies will achieve these levels by the 2027 deadline, as it may be disproportionately costly or not technically feasible. Unless the European Commission agrees a lower target accordingly, the United Kingdom could be exposed to considerable financial penalties. The Agency considers the agricultural sector to be the major contributor to diffuse pollution and this sector has been the focus of its activities. But there is limited information on the impact of different farming activities on water pollution and so it is not possible to establish whether the Agency is effectively targeting its resources. The Agency's advice and the voluntary initiatives across government on changing farming practices have had limited impact and need to be co-ordinated. Sanctions have proved relatively ineffective in changing farming practices and progress in improving them has been slow. The Agency also has limited evidence of the effectiveness of its inspection activity
The Environment Agency spends about £114 million a year on water resources management in England and Wales, in order to ensure sufficient water is available to meet the needs of people and the environment, through network monitoring and by regulation using a system of water abstraction licences. This NAO report examines the scope for greater efficiency in the Agency's management of water resources across England. Findings include that, in general, the Agency provides a well-managed and professional service, but there is scope to improve efficiency and realise net savings of £450,000 a year, with a further potential saving of between £1 million to £2 million as a result of internal cost reallocation. Areas for improvements include cost allocation methods used in monitoring sites used jointly for water resource management and flood defence functions; the development of the monitoring network; and greater consistency in regional charges for the Operations Delivery Workforce.
Environmental assessment is a process to ensure that the environmental impacts of projects are identified before a decision is taken on whether a proposal should proceed. This means that the most environmentally favourable option can be identified at an early stage and best practicable environmental option selected. This handbook has been produced for: Environment Agency staff; developers and their consultants; local planning authorities; and others who are involved in promoting and appraising projects and activities which are likely to affect the water environment. The publication aims to encourage consultation with the Environment Agency, now widely termed the scoping stage.
This report finds that giving greater responsibility and discretion to local authorities to identify flood risk and target investment raises significant challenges, especially during a time of budget cuts and other newly devolved responsibilities. The NAO considers that greater value for money can be achieved through these reforms, but key elements of what is required are not yet in place. Local knowledge of surface water flood risk is far less advanced than national information on risk of flooding from rivers and the sea. Local authorities are having difficulty in recruiting and retaining appropriately qualified staff. Local decision-making is hampered by the need to cross-refer between nearly 20 different plans that affect local flood risk management. It is not yet clear how the Department and the Environment Agency will provide assurance nationally that arrangements are working. The Environment Agency has improved its efficiency since the NAO last reported in 2007. There is a better understanding of the condition of existing sea and river defences. It has brought 98 per cent of defences classified as 'high consequence' if they fail, up to target condition and is directing more of its funding towards these defences. The Agency estimates that, owing to climate change and ageing defences, an increase of £20 million is required on average each year between 2011 and 2035 to maintain the current level of flood protection. However, central government funding to the Agency has reduced by 10 per cent over this spending review period compared with the last. If central funding does not increase after 2014-15, defences will depend on significant additional funding being secured locally. Currently, some 95 per cent of funding is provided by central government. The NAO found that local bodies will be hard-pressed to plug any funding gap while under pressure to deliver a number of other newly devolved responsibilities. And the Department's plans to encourage more local funding could see some defence schemes that have attracted private or other funding going ahead in advance of schemes elsewhere that provide greater benefits.
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