To address soil affected by contamination, Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 provides local authorities with statutory powers to inspect and seek remediation of potential contaminated sites. Under Defra’s Plan for Water, we are developing a £78m Land Remediation Pathfinder Scheme (LRPS) to provide a grant to Local and Combined Mayoral Authorities in England to alleviate the costs of Landfill Tax where the tax may act as a financial barrier to the remediation and redevelopment of contaminated land. LRPS was announced in the 2023 Autumn Statement. The date from which public bodies will be able to apply for funding will be announced in due course. Subject to applications received, it is expected a number of sites will be selected, with the aim of piloting the scheme in urban, coastal and industrial locations, and on variously sized sites. The tNCEA is using current capital investment to achieve two years of the five years needed for a soil health baseline. In this immediate phase, the tNCEA is collecting data on some inorganic contaminants, such as Arsenic, Lead, Nickel and Cadmium and other potentially toxic elements. Data on organic contaminants such as pesticides and microplastics are not currently being collected within the national monitoring. Soil and DNA samples are being archived and possible small-scale studies using these samples to improve understanding of contaminants and anti-microbial resistance in soils are being explored, with one study using these samples to explore the analysis of ‘microfibres’ in the soil.