Although the Department has set out its high-level vision for ELM through six ‘outcomes’ set out in the 25-Year Environment Plan, it has not yet defined the specific objectives that it will be using to measure ELM’s success against this vision. HM Treasury’s Green Book highlights the importance of having up to five or six SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-limited) objectives for all programmes. The Department’s outline business case for the Programme sets out 24 SMART objectives, but that these are described as provisional and indicative, and the estimated cost of delivering them in full is significantly above the annual budget for ELM. Clear objectives are needed for effective appraisal, planning, monitoring and evaluation.67 The National Farmers’ Union similarly highlighted the importance of having clear objectives in designing the scheme. It explained that they were necessary to set the parameters for scheme design and that it had seen various standards within SFI being reworked multiple times due to key decisions not having been made.68