News

The Beavers (England) Order 2022 was laid before Parliament on 22nd of July. The Order, coming into force from 1st October 2022, has two effects: The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) will be listed in Schedule 2 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. This will include the animal in the list of European Protected Species, and provides the species with legal protection against the unlicensed capture, killing or disruption.The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) will be included in...

Today (26th July) DEFRA have published a brochure detailing the grants available for farmers and land managers in England, and setting out the schemes that will be available in the coming years. The brochure can be downloaded from GOV.uk.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has granted consent for the construction of a new nuclear power station, announced by the Government on 20th July. The decision and the evidence considered by the Examining Authority in reaching its recommendation are publicly available on the project pages of the National Infrastructure Planning website....

DEFRA has announced two new policies to address ongoing issues of nutrient pollution in catchments and waterways. An amendment is to be introduced into the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, requiring water companies in England to upgrade wastewater treatment works by 2030 in ‘nutrient neutrality’ areas to the highest achievable technological levels.A new Nutrient Mitigation Scheme, establishing a process of offsetting for use by Local Authorities. The CAAV will be reviewing the proposals...

DEFRA has responded to the Office for Environmental Protection's first Monitoring Report (for more information, see our website note of 12th May). The response sets out some of DEFRA's ongoing work in relation to meeting its environmental targets, including a review of the 25 Year Environment Plan, that is to be published by 31st January 2023. In the response, George Eustice states that the review is to become the main environmental work programme for the department....

The House of Commons Library has prepared two useful briefing notes on renewable energy and energy efficiency. One covers schemes available to support domestic energy efficiency, heating and power generation while the other discusses improving energy efficiency in older houses. Both briefing notes contain references for further reading....

As new schemes and opportunities are developed, DEFRA and its arms length bodies such as Natural England are posting a number of updates and announcements across the Government website. Members may wish to subscribe to receive updates on new posts via email. Some sites of interest are listed below:DEFRA's Future Farming Blog: Future Farming (blog.gov.uk). Email updates can be subscribed to here: Subscribe - Future Farming (blog.gov.uk). Updates from the Rural Payments Agency, including...

The Energy Security Bill was introduced to Parliament on 6th July 2022. It "will deliver a cleaner, more affordable, and more secure energy system". Related documents can be found here. See the press release and Energy Security Bill: factsheets....

On Thursday 7th July, Boris Johnson resigned as Prime Minister.

The Welsh Government has published a document on The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021: tenanted land - frequently asked questions.

The investiture of the CAAV Presidential Team for 2022/2023 took place at the AGM. The team comprises:Simon Alden (National President) Malcolm Gale (Senior Vice-President) Martin Hall (Junior Vice-President) Biographies of the Presidential Team can be found on our website.

The Progress Report of the Climate Change Committee, published on 28th June (see our website note), highlighted the work still needing to be done to increase woodland planting rates and restore peatland. One challenge is to identify suitable land for these activities. DEFRA, the Forestry Commission and Natural England have today published a Decision Support Framework for Peatland Protection, the Establishment of New Woodland and Re-Establishment of Existing Woodland on Peatland in England to...

This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 23rd June 2022 Somewhere, perhaps seven years ago, the wheel turned and Government thinking on private landlords flipped from respecting valued providers of flexibility in the economy to seeing them more as a problem. Increases in transactions taxes and the removal of Income Tax reliefs particularly affected buy-to-let, until then seen as a valid self-reliant alternative to pressured pension provision but now a mis-direction...

The Scottish Government has opened a consultation on a proposed Biodiversity Strategy. The strategy, which aims to have 'substantially restored and regenerated' biodiversity in Scotland by 2045, targets several outcomes on rural land, including the restoration of peatland, planting more trees and improving water quality. The CAAV will be reviewing the the strategy in more detail....