The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has published the consultation outcome and government response to its consultation on bathing waters in England. Following the consultation, all 27 proposed sites will be added to the list of designated bathing waters for the 2024 bathing season and will immediately benefit from regular water quality monitoring. The new sites will take the total number of bathing waters to 451 across England. The government will also launch a consultation later in 2024 on proposals to reform the bathing water regulations for England.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published a set of templates for developers to create biodiversity gain plans for phased developments, which must be submitted to local planning authorities (LPAs). Developers should utilise the overall biodiversity gain plan template to create their overall plan for the whole development, while the phase biodiversity gain plan template should be used to create a plan for each phase of the development.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has published guidance for developers on meeting mandatory biodiversity net gain requirements for nationally significant infrastructure projects in England. From 2 November 2026, developers applying for a development consent order must deliver at least a 10% biodiversity net gain. The requirement, introduced by Schedule 15 to the Environment Act 2021, applies to habitats in England as far as the mean low-water mark. Developers must follow the relevant biodiversity gain statement, apply the mitigation hierarchy and use the statutory biodiversity metric to calculate the project’s baseline and post-development biodiversity value.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), together with the Council for Sustainable Business, the Green Finance Institute (GFI), the Aldersgate Group, and the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP), published three board-level resources. These materials address nature-related financial risks and opportunities for UK businesses and include a short film, a Boardroom Briefing on Nature tailored for Chairs and non-executive directors and a collection of cross-economy business case studies. The resources highlight key figures, noting that the UK's natural capital asset value is estimated at approximately £1.6 trillion, while annual ecosystem services deliver flows valued at £41 billion. In 2025, around 900 UK businesses in nature-related sectors raised £2.8 billion, supporting 21,000 jobs. These insights are framed in the context of legally binding Environment Act targets and the Global Biodiversity Framework.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has published guidance for mayoral strategic authorities on incorporating circular economy principles into local growth plans or spatial development strategies. The guidance, which applies to England, provides examples to help authorities incorporate circularity as a core principle when developing or refreshing local growth plans. Defra defines a circular economy as an economic system that keeps materials, resources and energy in use at their highest value for as long as possible, ensuring products are designed to last and can be repaired, refurbished, reused and recycled. The guidance states that circular approaches aim to minimise resource use and environmental impact while fostering sustainable growth and social value by integrating social, economic and environmental considerations.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has published a collection of annual reports outlining assessments and outcomes of its negotiations for fishing opportunities available in the UK for 2024. The collection includes an assessment of the total allowable catches and economic outcomes negotiated across negotiating forums which are UK-EU bilateral, UK-EU-Norway trilateral, North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission and coastal states negotiations for setting catch limits for 2024.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published the outcome of its consultation on extending UK REACH transitional registration dossier submission deadlines and aligning the Health and Safety Executive’s compliance check timelines. Following 210 responses, the government confirmed its intention to legislate in 2026, subject to the consent of Scottish and Welsh Ministers, to extend the current deadlines in order to allow sufficient time to finalise, legislate for and implement the Alternative Transitional Registration Model (ATRm), and to avoid unnecessary or premature costs for businesses. The consultation demonstrated strong rejection of retaining the existing deadlines, widespread support for extending them, and broad agreement that an extension would not materially reduce protection for human health or the environment, given the continued application of EU REACH data, existing safety controls and ongoing legal duties during the transitional period.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published the outcome of the consultation into the proposed ban on the manufacture, supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic which aims to combat plastic pollution. Out of the 1,561 replies to the consultation, the majority of the respondents supported the proposed ban to reduce the volume of microplastics entering wastewater treatment sites and safeguard infrastructure and the environment, the minority did however argue that it will cause a loss in revenue and jobs. The decision has been made by the government to move forward with legislation that will prohibit the distribution and retailing of wet wipes containing plastic throughout the United Kingdom.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published its summary of responses and government response to its consultation on proposed amendments to the assimilated Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation 2026. Defra received 25 responses and has confirmed that it still intends to introduce legislation to update Annex I of the POPs Regulation. The proposed changes would restrict five newly listed substances and amend some existing limits, reflecting the UK’s obligations under the Stockholm Convention and the government’s wider aim of reducing risks from harmful chemicals. Defra states that the statutory instrument is expected to be laid in Parliament in October 2026 and come into force in December 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. The response also confirms that some proposals have been refined following stakeholder feedback, including to allow transition periods and improve alignment with EU and Northern Ireland rules where appropriate.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published a decision tree diagram, illustrating the process for determining the recyclability of materials under the recyclability assessment methodology (RAM), which is part of the extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging scheme. The diagram supplements existing guidance on assessing packaging waste, rating individual materials, and understanding recyclability stages. It outlines the steps for classifying packaging as red, amber, or green under the RAM and can also serve as a template for creating custom process diagrams.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has published a 10-year Deer Impacts Policy Statement introducing measures to reduce deer damage to England’s woodlands, which now affects an estimated 33% of sites, up from 24% in the early 2000s. Defra states that excessive browsing and trampling by deer, including three non-native invasive species, are preventing natural regeneration, degrading habitats, damaging crops, affecting rare fen wetlands and contributing to species decline, including nightingales, whose populations have fallen by more than 90% since the 1960s. Defra considers current management insufficient and will appoint dedicated deer officers, provide grant funding, streamline licensing processes, and consider changes to night shooting and close season rules to enable more effective, landscape-scale control. It will also support the domestic wild venison market, including through the British Quality Wild Venison Standard and potential public procurement, and fund research such as drone surveying to target priority areas. The policy follows the Grey Squirrel Policy Statement and supports wider government objectives to expand woodland cover to at least 16.5% of England’s land area by 2050, protect timber production and advance nature recovery.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has published a draft statutory instrument (SI) to ban the sale and supply of disposable vapes in England. This update follows the government’s announcement in January 2024 that disposable vapes will be banned, and both the Scottish Government and Welsh Government have also confirmed they intend to introduce similar legislation. Not only does the policy discourage youth from vaping, but it intends to reduce the harm to the environment caused by disposable vapes. The government are seeking comments and views on the draft regulations, the deadline for which is 25 March 2024.