Value for Money

The Environmental Land Management scheme

Published 15 September 2021 7 recommendations Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Climate change and net zeroEnergy and environmentEnvironmental sustainabilityFood and farmingRural and countryside nao.org.uk

This report examines the strategic management of the Environmental Land Management scheme.

Recommendations (7)

Source: NAO Recommendations Tracker · PAC follow-up below

6

Accepted

1

Rejected

6

Implemented

6

NAO Confirmed

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Rec 1 Accepted Implemented

Defra should: • urgently agree a clear, realistic and logical set of strategic objectives for ELM, as required by HM Treasury; this should include developing its understanding of how it will prioritise its objectives and a plan to measure what is achieved against these objectives;

Page 13, paragraph 27, first bullet point Q2 2022-23

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Rec 2 Accepted Implemented

• develop detailed plans that go beyond its short-term delivery priorities based on robust delivery schedules and a long-term detailed critical path;

Page 13, paragraph 27, second bullet point Q3 2023-24

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Rec 3 Accepted Implemented

• regularly check deliverability leading up to the full launch of ELM in 2024; in particular, it should closely monitor the feasibility of delivering SFI2022 on time, based on a better understanding of how long individual tasks will take and what indicators should trigger a delay to the launch of SFI2022;

Page 13, paragraph 27, third bullet point Q4 2021-22

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Rec 4 Accepted Implemented

• assess which elements of SFI2022 will not be fully tested before its launch and ensure appropriate mitigations are in place for the risks associated with rolling out the new scheme without full testing;

Page 13, paragraph 27, fourth bullet point Q4 2021-22

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Rec 5 Rejected

• identify the underlying reasons for the lower-than-expected level of interest in joining the first cohort of the pilot and develop measures to ensure future invitations achieve a better response across a wide range of farmers, targeting particular groups, if necessary;

Page 13, paragraph 27, fifth bullet point

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Rec 6 Accepted Implemented

• produce a clear plan, building on the work it has started, for how administrative savings will be achieved, including a timetable and who is accountable for delivery, and how its success will be measured; and

Page 13, paragraph 27, sixth bullet point Q1 2022-23

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Rec 7 Accepted Implemented

• develop detailed operational procedures against the fraud and error risks identified, and a plan to show how it will achieve and assess progress against its fraud and error objectives.

Page 13, paragraph 27, seventh bullet point Q3 2023-24

Parliamentary Committee Follow-Up

The Public Accounts Committee examined this NAO report and published its own recommendations. The government responds to PAC recommendations via Treasury Minutes.

Thirty-First Report - Environmental Land Management Scheme

Public Accounts Committee · 9 January 2022 · 19 recommendations

View PAC report & government responses parliament.uk