Two Years of Insights: Reflections from the Chief Regulator

Two years ago, the Environment Agency established the Chief Regulator’s Group to deliver strategic leadership in regulation. This initiative aims to foster a more consistent, effective, and proportionate regulatory framework while enhancing the link between strategy, policy, and implementation.

Since then, my team and I have been committed to driving this transformation forward. While meaningful change often requires time, we have made significant progress, shifting from merely improving individual components of regulation to establishing a more integrated and cohesive regulatory system.

Enhancing Transparency and Public Access

For the first time, members of the public can access Compliance Assessment Report (CAR) forms without needing to submit an information request. We have now made thousands of reports available on the Public Register Online, covering areas such as water quality, waste management, installations, and intensive pig and poultry operations.

Additionally, enhanced training and assurance processes have improved the quality of information accessible to the public regarding permit holder performance. We are building on this momentum, with plans to expand access to more sectors in the near future.

Innovative Developments in Permitting

Permitting is central to our enhancement initiatives, and the Accelerated Permitting Transformation Programme is already yielding positive results. Waiting times are currently at a three-year low, with the backlog reduced by over 75%. Enhanced validation processes have also cut down the determination times for complex applications by as much as 100 days.

We have introduced a Priority Tracked Service for complex multi-permit and Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), currently assisting over 60 developments in sectors such as housing, energy, infrastructure, mining, and technology, all of which have received positive feedback from customers.

Our Regulatory Services Programme is driving our digital transformation by creating more efficient online experiences for our customers. Various types of permit applications are now fully digital, including Paper, Cardboard, and Plastic (PCP), Healthcare Waste (HCW), Waste Mattresses (WM), and Materials Recycling Facilities (MRF). In conjunction with this, an expansion of GOV.UK Pay for applications under £5,000 has significantly reduced processing times.

Promoting Responsible Sector Improvements

We are dedicated to supporting responsible businesses to thrive sustainably while taking decisive action when standards falter.

Our primary focus areas have included water quality and waste crime. In March, we unveiled our 10-point plan aimed at addressing waste crime, which seeks to strengthen and expedite actions in this increasingly concerning area. The plan emphasises earlier intervention and more robust enforcement against underperformers, while tightening controls and accountability across the waste supply chain.

Remarkably, our water regulation teams conducted over 10,000 inspections of water company assets within a single year, identifying permit breaches in 22% of cases. This has enabled us to construct a clear, evidence-based understanding of non-compliance that will inform our future regulatory approach.

Empowering Regulatory Teams Through Technology

By equipping our regulatory teams with improved tools, we are enhancing their ability to utilise data and insights effectively. A new digital system is being introduced to facilitate the recording, tracking, and management of non-compliance, thereby improving follow-up actions from previous inspections. This Regulatory Compliance Service (RCS) is already operational in our Water Quality inspections and will soon be extended to other sectors, including waste management.

Across all sectors, we are developing new regulatory plans that centre on the tangible outcomes we aim to achieve through our regulation.

We are committed to providing clear, proportionate, and predictable regulation. This approach involves reducing uncertainty and enabling investment by stepping back where risks are minimal and taking an evidence-based stance in higher-risk scenarios, while ensuring decisive action is taken when necessary. For instance, in the waste sector, we are establishing new minimum inspection frequencies for various types of sites, concentrating our efforts on underperformers and high-risk locations while minimising routine regulatory activities at consistently well-performing sites.

Strengthening the Regulatory Profession

While we are advancing our use of digital technologies, data, and artificial intelligence, I firmly believe that people remain at the core of effective regulation. Therefore, we are reinforcing our regulatory framework within the Environment Agency by establishing a Regulation Profession and investing in the necessary learning, development, and infrastructure to support our workforce.

Through accredited training and new partnerships with industry and academia, we are cultivating a confident and skilled workforce backed by cutting-edge digital tools. In the waste sector, for example, we are employing AI and machine learning to enhance compliance analytics, identify waste-related risks, and optimise assessments.

Implementing Innovative Approaches

New methodologies are crucial for driving progress. We have recently adopted the Lead Environmental Regulator role on four pilot projects: East West Rail, Lighthouse Green Fuels, Sizewell C, and the Trelavour Lithium Project. This initiative aims to provide developers with clearer, earlier, and more coordinated environmental guidance from across regulatory bodies, while maintaining robust protections.

We are also fostering innovation in areas such as decarbonisation. Key regulatory milestones include the issuance of the first UK refinery carbon capture and storage (CCS) permit and securing the VPI Immingham carbon capture permit—both pivotal in enabling significant industrial decarbonisation efforts.

Through our commitment to proportionate regulation and achieving environmental outcomes, we are taking decisive action in high-risk areas while exploring opportunities to ease regulations where risks are minimal.

Looking Towards the Future

Our ambition is to create a regulatory system that is digitally enabled, risk-driven, transparent, and user-friendly. By harnessing improved data, enhanced regulatory capabilities, and smarter technologies, we can focus our efforts on achieving the most significant environmental outcomes while providing greater certainty to those we regulate.

Although our transformation is far from complete, we are actively undertaking necessary actions. We possess a clear understanding of the steps ahead. Independent reviews by esteemed organisations such as the Office for Environmental Protection and the National Audit Office, along with recommendations from Dan Corry and John Fingleton, continue to catalyse our progress.

Lasting change cannot be achieved by the Environment Agency in isolation. It requires the Government to establish new policies and reform legislation, alongside those we regulate collaborating with us towards a shared objective of improved environmental outcomes.

There is much more occurring than can be encompassed in a single blog post. In the upcoming months, I will publish my next Chief Regulator report, which will provide a comprehensive overview of our progress against the EA2030 strategy and the vision I previously outlined.

For further updates, please follow the Chief Regulator’s LinkedIn page.