28
Deferred
Set up a 2024 soil remediation taskforce to tackle barriers and fund solutions.
Recommendation
The Government should set up a soil remediation taskforce in 2024 to tackle the barriers to soil remediation. This should consider the role that new technologies Soil health 53 can play with hard-to-remediate soils, as well as the provision of funding to either developers, local authorities or regulators to tackle the cases that the planning system and private sector are incapable of improving. The Taskforce’s proposals should inform the updated Environmental Improvement Plan due by 2028, which should set out how soil remediation will help the Government make progress towards its nature recovery targets.
Government Response Summary
The government defers establishing a soil remediation taskforce, stating it is committed to urban soil management and is currently focused on publishing revised guidance for construction sites, piloting a Soil Reuse and Depot scheme by December 2026, and assessing a soil bank system before considering the need for a taskforce.
Paragraph Reference
95
Government Response
Deferred
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
Government is committed to integrating the management of urban soil and contaminated land into its overall approach to soil health. The EIP included a commitment to publish a revised ‘Code of Practice for the sustainable use of soil on construction sites’. Input was received from a technical advisory group made up of industry experts, and technical expertise provided by the Environment Agency and Natural England. We currently anticipate the revised guidance to be published by summer 2024, and plan to carry out user testing and evaluation to assess the effectiveness of its uptake. We also intend to pilot a Soil Reuse and Depot scheme by December 2026, and assess the effectiveness of that pilot scheme before any potential expansion. The Environment Agency commissioned a report into the feasibility of a soil bank system in England in 2023, which put forward a potential model for such a scheme. The Environment Agency anticipates it will publish the report in the Spring. These reviews will assess the effectiveness of voluntary approaches, with appropriate stakeholder engagement, before considering any regulatory models, or the need for a specific taskforce on soil remediation.
Timeline
Recommendation age
2.5 yrs
Report published
05 Dec 2023