Environmental Audit Committee report

This report is important and challenging to government.  Brexit may mean Brexit but what does it mean for agriculture and environmental protection?

Just as government did not have a plan for Brexit (somewhat understandable because government wasn’t in favour of it), Defra still does not have a plan for Brexit.  The Secretary of State was seen at her scintillatingly intellectual best when she said about the non-existent 25-year plan for agriculture and the 25-year non-existent plan for the environment:

‘They do need to complement each other but they are focused on slightly different targets. One is a huge economic question, a big employment question, a big subject around the great British food brand, animal welfare, food safety, food traceability. The other is very much about what environment do we want to be living in for our children and grandchildren. I think it is right that we have two separate plans.‘

What price joined up government when we haven’t even got joined-up Defra?

The EAC report itself is a little too focussed on the Brexit impact on farming given its own terms of reference and the title of the report,  but let’s just call that ‘joined up’.  There is rather too much about how tough it will be for farmers to compete in a brave new world and rather little mention of the fact that the other side of that is that there will be cheap food imports for consumers (perhaps dependent on poor environmental standards). In fact throughout the report there is relatively little about how the consumer and taxpayer will fare compared with how the farmer will fare – we have all got so used to this that we no longer see it as odd; but it is odd.

This is a challenging report and here are its recommendations (I’ve highlighted a few areas in red which I think are interesting – but actually, it all is);

107. Based on the conclusions throughout this report, the committee considers that the Government must address the following recommendations during negotiations to leave the EU:

(1) In order to meet its manifesto commitment to “be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than it found it”, the Government must, before triggering Article 50, commit to legislating for a new Environmental Protection Act, ensuring that the UK has an equivalent or better level of environmental protection as in the EU.

(2) Government must, as part of its initial work to leave the EU, assess the resources necessary to replace existing EU environmental funding to ensure that farm businesses remain viable, and that animal welfare, food security and food safety are protected, both in the UK and the Overseas Territories. Government must also provide evidence to allay our scepticism over the capacity of Defra to meet the additional pressures that exiting the EU creates for meeting the Government’s manifesto commitment in a cost-effective manner alongside its non-environmental priorities.

(3) Government must recognise the interdependence of its two 25 year plans and ensure that they are fully coordinated as part of a combined negotiating strategy, including providing clarity on how the links will be communicated and acted upon. The plan frameworks should be published and consulted on before Article 50 is triggered so as to inform the Government’s negotiating position and form the basis of a new Environmental Protection Act.

(4) The EU negotiations led by the Prime Minister and supported by DExEU must address the impact of international issues, including future trade arrangements, on the UK environment and agriculture. The Birds and Habitats directives are at risk even if the UK remains a member of the EEA. If the UK leaves the Single Market then the Government should state clearly what new measures need to be put in place to maintain food safety and security, protect British agriculture from tariff and non-tariff barriers and ensure the UK maintains our current level of environmental protection. The Government should also undertake a gap analysis to establish whether additional animal welfare and food safety standards legislation is necessary.

(5) Before Article 50 is triggered the Government must identify legislation which may be difficult to transpose to ensure full public and parliamentary debate and scrutiny. The Government should introduce a new Environmental Protection Act to maintain and enforce environmental standards after we leave. This is needed to ensure environmental standards are not weakened when we leave the EU–whether through leaving the Single Market, changes in trading status or through the creation of “zombie legislation” resulting from our departure from EU governance and enforcement structures. Government should address the resource implications of this for Defra. Finally, the Government should guarantee that it will not trade away environmental protections, animal welfare and food safety standards, as part of the negotiations to leave, or as part of future trade deals.

(6) Before Britain leaves the EU the Government must have clearly established the environmental objectives and governance model to be used for any future land management payments. Objectives should be clearly linked to the public goods that are to be achieved through funding rather than simply providing income support to farmers: these public goods should be supported by strong evidence of the benefits they provide and the market failure they correct. The Government must produce evidence which enables an outcomes focussed approach and supports innovation.

(7) Defra must, as part of leaving the EU, ensure that plans for post-EU environmental coordination between the countries of the UK is sufficient to ensure that funding is allocated fairly and transparently, with shared strategic objectives complemented by minimum environmental standards, so that the UK can continue to meet its international obligations. The Overseas Territories must also receive sufficient funding and support to ensure they can meet their international obligations.

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