Closes 21 Nov 2024 Defra is seeking views on proposed amendments to Annex A of the Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS). The JFS was published in November 2022 by the four UK fisheries policy authorities (the Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers, and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland), […]
Closes 19 Jan 2025 Defra is seeking views on the proposed queen scallop Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) in English waters, its policies and proposed measures. They are also seeking your views on the likely environmental effects of the FMP, as set out in the environmental report. The queen scallop FMP sets out a pathway to the […]
In November 2021, Defra launched a consultation on proposals to ban the supply of single-use plastic plates, cutlery, and balloon sticks and expanded and extruded polystyrene food and drinks containers. The consultation took place as part of the 25 Year Environment Plan ambition to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by 2042. The responses have now been […]
Defra has announced the 2022 bathing water results. The results summarise the compliance of coastal and inland designated bathing waters for England in 2022. In summary 97.1% met at least the minimum Bathing Water standard, and 72.1% met the ‘excellent’ standard, however 2.9% did not meet the minimum standard for bathing and are classed as […]
Defra has published a policy paper setting out its ambitions and a series of actions to reduce and, where possible, eliminate accidental capture and entanglement of sensitive marine species in fishing gear in UK waters. Sensitive marine species include seabirds, cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), and sharks, skates and rays. Bycatch monitoring programmes in the […]
Closes 28th September 2022 Defra has launched a consultation on proposals to designate pilot Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs), including a candidate site of Allonby Bay, Cumbria. In 2019 the UK Government commissioned an independent review, the Benyon Review, to explore the concept of HPMAs. The Review concluded that they are an essential component of […]
Closes 11:45 p.m. 12th May 2022 Defra is seeking views on new government targets to tackle the issue of sewage discharges to eliminate ecological and public healthhttps://consult.defra.gov.uk/water-industry/storm-overflows-discharge-reduction-plan/ harm arising from storm-related sewage overflows. There are around 15,000 storm overflows in England, and in 2020 there were over 400,000 sewage discharges, totalling over 3 million hours. […]
Consultation closed 11:45 p.m. 12th April 2022 Defra is seeking view on the draft Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS), which has been developed by the 4 fisheries administrations of the UK (Scottish Government, Welsh Government, UK Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland). The consultation seeks views on the policies […]
Consultation closes 11:45 p.m. 11th May 2022 Defra is seeking views on initial policy proposals regarding protected sites and species. The Government’s targets are to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030, and to halt species decline by 2030. The proposals set out in the Green Paper support these ambitions and include options to […]
Consultation closes 11:45 p.m., 11th May 2022 Defra is seeking views on proposed new environmental targets under the Environment Act 2021. The Act requires that at least one target in each of four priority areas is set in: air, water, biodiversity, and resource efficiency and waste reduction. It also requires targets to be set for […]