There is a commitment in Part 1 Chapter 1 Section 6 of the Agriculture Act 2020 to report on the impact and effectiveness of Agriculture schemes including ELM. We are currently reviewing how best to meet that commitment. We are developing a comprehensive indicator for soil health in England that will display soils’ ability to contribute to the delivery of selected ecosystem services. Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) published a concept model in June 2023, and we intend to develop a more comprehensive model by 2025. Given the long timescale over which soil properties change, it is unlikely that we will be able to report annually on the impact from our farming schemes on soil health. Recommendation 12 and 13: By mid-2025, the Government should develop an action plan setting out how it will make organic inputs a more economical choice for farmers. This should include measures that boost the availability and diversity of organic inputs to achieve soil health targets and ensure the organic recycling and agricultural sectors have the facilities and technologies to produce, store and spread a diverse range of organic inputs, including compost, digestate and biosolids. The Government also needs to support research into novel fertilisers and new technologies that can enable more use of organic inputs. (Paragraph 71) The next Environmental Improvement Plan, due by 2028, should incorporate this action plan. It should also set out how the Government will address other drivers in the wider food supply chain that encourage poor soil management. These include a lack of profitability in the sector and unsustainable consumer and retailer demands. To support this, the Government should work with industry to develop a common understanding of sustainable soil management that assurance standards and retailer- supplier agreements can adhere to. The Government should also ask the Food Data and Transparency Partnership to consider how this definition could be part of a future ecolabelling system in the future. (Paragraph 72) Currently the Environment Agency has a strategy for safe and sustainable sludge use (biosolids) and a review programme for its compost, anaerobic digestate and poultry litter ash Quality Protocols. The Government is making substantial investments to improve the management of organic nutrients. In 2022 Defra launched the Slurry Infrastructure Grant, which committed to spending £200m over 3 years on grants to improve the storage and management of slurry on farms. The Government has a long-term plan to support the development of novel fertilisers. Last year Defra announced a new £25 million Nutrient Management Theme under the Farming Innovation Programme, aimed at supporting the development and adoption of novel techniques for improving nutrient management, including the development of novel fertilisers. The theme will launch in spring 2024. Additionally, Defra will consult on the reform of the fertiliser regulations later this year with the intention of providing a clearer route to market for products that may be created using inputs from organic sources. The government’s Food Strategy published in June 2022 sets out the government’s approach to delivering a prosperous agri-food sector that seeks to reduce the environmental impact of the food system. Defra and the Environment Agency engages with the agri-food industry throughout the supply chain to support an increase in farming standards, with soil health as one of the main priorities. We will continue to work with the Food Data Transparency Partnership to share knowledge and ideas for positive environmental outcomes. We will work towards a review and revision of the EIP in 2028, informed using an evidence- based approach as well as appropriate stakeholder engagement. This will consider how the current EIP23 may need to be revised to best drive action against the 10 goals included within the plan. Soil regulations Recommendation 14 and 15: Using improved soil health and soil management data, as well as its evaluation of the success of the ELM schemes, the Department should work with industry, academics and regulators on a more robust regulatory baseline for soils. These regulations should be in line with any future soil health targets and any future definition of ‘sustainable soil management’. This new regulatory framework should be consulted on, legislated for and clearly communicated before 2030, with provisions coming into force by 2035, to give land managers and owners time to prepare. The new laws would preferably take a combined approach with other areas, such as water and air quality but could take the form of a soil-specific regulatory framework. While agriculture should be an important focus, we would also like to see a framework offering protections for all types of soils. (Paragraph 80) In the agricultural sector, the regulatory baseline should be designed to work in tandem with ELM schemes. Initially it should incorporate most of the soil