14 Nov 2024

The government hopes that tens of thousands of new homes will be delivered across England, thanks to funding and partnership work, to unlock stalled homes across England, and support its ambition to build 1.5 million homes. Round 2 of the Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund will ensure building the homes we need will not come at the expense […]

30 Oct 2024

Following last week’s announcement of an Independent Commission into the water sector and its regulation, Defra has published the Terms of Reference. The government says the “sector should become one of growth and opportunity, which will restore our rivers, lakes and seas to good health, deliver a resilient and efficient water supply in the face […]

23 Oct 2024

Defra has announced the launch of an Independent Commission into the water sector and its regulation, in what is expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation. The Commission forms the next stage in the Government’s long-term approach to ensuring we have a sufficiently robust and stable regulatory framework to attract the […]

09 Oct 2024

The government is being urged to reform a “nightmare” system designed to help victims of flooding rebuild their homes and businesses, following an Unearthed investigation.   Credit: Wes Warren   The Property Flood Resilience (PFR) grant is supposed to award flood victims up to £5,000 to allow them to rebuild and flood proof their homes […]

02 Oct 2024

The Guardian reports that the new Labour government used “economically illiterate” analysis paid for by water companies in order to argue against the nationalisation of the sector in England. In an official letter recently sent to anti-sewage groups, civil servants cited a paper by the Social Market Foundation as a reason to avoid nationalisation as part of […]

25 Sep 2024

In his first major foreign policy speech, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has made clear that action on climate is action on our security, our prosperity and our future. At the Kew Lecture, Lammy talked about “resetting Britain’s approach to climate and nature”, setting out three priorities Building a Global Clean Power Alliance Unlocking more climate […]

25 Sep 2024

The government has accepted that not enough progress has been made in improving the water environment in England. The admission came in response to the Office for Environmental Protection’s (OEP) report on the implementation of the Water Framework Directive regulations and River Basin Management Planning. Defra’s response recognises that “The government agrees that there has […]

25 Sep 2024

George Monbiot, writing in The Guardian, says more floods are coming to Britain, and that the network of public bodies supposed to safeguard us are bastions of self-interest. Labour’s first stage of government resembles a vast forensic excavation. As it works through the Conservatives’ midden of horrors, it discovers an ever greater legacy of underinvestment, […]