board meeting - gov.uk...board meeting thursday 12 december 2019 pre-meeting briefing 08:30 10 mins...

Board Meeting

Thursday 12 December 2019

Pre-meeting briefing

08:30 10 mins

1.

Apologies

Emma Howard Boyd

08:40 10 mins

2. Declarations of Interest

Emma Howard Boyd

3. Minutes of the Board meeting held on 9 October 2019 and matters arising (for approval)

Emma Howard Boyd

4. EU Exit (for information)

Toby Willison / Harvey Bradshaw

08:50 15 mins

5. Discussion with David Hill Emma Howard Boyd

09:05 30 mins

6. Board Updates 6.1 Chair’s update (for information) 6.2 Chief Executive’s update (for information)

Emma Howard Boyd James Bevan

09:35 30 mins

7. Winter flooding response & recovery (for information)

Toby Willison 10:05 25 mins

8. Strategic communications & engagement (for information)

Harvey Bradshaw 10:30 15 mins

Venue: Food Theatre, Sainsbury’s, 33 Holborn, London, EC1N 2HT

Board meeting: 08:30 – 14:15 Quorum: 7 non-executive Board members

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Break

10:45 10 mins

9. Water story (for discussion)


10. Water Resources Strategic Review of

Charges (for approval)


11. Recent committee meeting updates 11.1 FCRM Committee annual summary report 11.2 EAPF Employer Contribution Rates (for approval)

Emma Howard Boyd Lynne Frostick Robert Gould

12:05 20 mins

Lunch 12:25 30 mins

12. People Strategy (for discussion) John Leyland 12:55 30 mins

13. Q2 Corporate Scorecard (for discussion)

Pat Bolster

13:25 25 mins

14. Schemes of delegation and finance update 14.1 Finance update 14.2 Financial Scheme of Delegation (for approval)

Pat Bolster

13:50 10 mins

15. AOB and date of next meeting Emma Howard Boyd

14:00 10 mins

16. Review of meeting

Emma Howard Boyd

14:10 5 mins

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Board action list

Meeting Date

Item no and title Lead Progress

1 October 2019

Item 3.1 Minutes and Matters Arising Doug Wilson agreed to progress action 2 related to the integration of research into Board conversations.

Doug Wilson

Complete: Insights from Horizon Scanning and global trends were used as part of the Board planning session in July. This is being developed further via the Material Issues which will be discussed in the ARAC workshop planned for February 2020. Updates on key research outputs and State of the Environment reports will be shared with the Board on a regular basis.

2 October 2019

Item 4.3 Chair’s Update It was agreed to share details of the OEP recruitment and details of the skills of the Environment Agency Board recruitment would be focussed on with the Board members.

Deputy Director Governance and Engagement

Complete: Details of both recruitment processes have been shared.

3 October 2019

Item 4.8 Chief Executive’s Update The Board agreed that it would revisit the water story discussion at a future meeting of the full Board, or the Environment & Business Committee.

Board Governance Team

Complete: This item is included on the December 2019 agenda.

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4

October 2019

Item 5.1 EU Exit A short briefing on the legislation was requested, to be shared with Emma Howard Boyd and James Bevan at the earliest opportunity.

Executive Director Environment and Business

Complete: A briefing was circulated to the Chair, Chief Executive and Executive Directors’ Team.

5 October 2019

Item 7.2 5 Year Action Plan The Board agreed to review the 5 Year Action Plan at the meeting in December.

Chief of Staff

Complete: This item will be include on the agenda for the February 2020 meeting. It has been delayed as a result of incident response.

2 May 2019

Item 4.2.2 Chief Executive’s update Action: The Board agreed that it would be good to consider coordinating research at the Board planning day on 10 July.

Chair / Board Governance team

Closed: This item has been superseded by action 1 from October 2019.

5 May 2019

Item 12.3 Corporate Services update Action: The Board agreed to invite Sarah Harmer (Defra Chief Operating Officer) to a future Board meeting.

Board Governance team

Ongoing: Sarah Homer has been invited to attend the December 2019 ARAC meeting. A decision will follow on the appropriate time to invite her to a future Board meeting.

6 October 2018

Item 5.3 Mobilising More Money Action: The Board thanked the team for their work and asked for a further progress update to return to a Board meeting next year.

Harvey Bradshaw

Ongoing: Mobilising More Money remains on the Board forward look.

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Board Meeting

Thursday 12 December 2019 Item 6.1 Appendix 1: UN Climate Change Conference COP25 itinerary

Sponsor: Emma Howard Boyd, Chair

Title: Chair’s Update

Please clearly state what decision you are seeking from the meeting The Board is asked to:

1. Note recent Chair engagements Key points for discussion This paper is intended to update the Board on the Chair’s key engagements since the last Board meeting on 9 October. Governance What meetings/groups have already reviewed this item? N/A N/A

What meetings/groups need to review this item next? N/A N/A

Are there any risks associated with the evidence and analysis in the paper? N/A How will the key messages/decisions be communicated? N/A No legal annex is required This is an information paper and therefore no legal annex is required.

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1.0 Emma Howard Boyd engagements 9 October to 28 November 2019

1.1 Please note this paper highlights Emma’s key engagement events since the last formal Board meeting. A detailed itinerary of Emma’s engagements is also sent out each week via the weekly update to Board members.

Key Speaking and panel events 10 October - Keynote and panel session at the Aldersgate Group event on business and climate resilience (Environment Agency Net Zero Announcement) 11 October – Spoke at the opening of the flood alleviation scheme in Godalming 17 October – Panel and Q&A at the Public Sector Green Finance Summit 18 October – Charing ‘Greening Bristol’ panel and speaking on ‘Climate Change in the City: Sustainable and Nature-Friendly Responses’ at Festival of the Future City 21 October – Chairing the Spatial Finance Initiative Advisory Board & give opening remarks at the SFI reception. 23 October – Keynote and Q&A at the Sainsbury’s farming conference 24 October – Speaking on ‘Sustainable Finance from a Risk & Reward Perspective’ panel at the World Pensions Summit in The Hague 29 October - Opening remarks at City Lecture and Dinner and Opening of the Centre for Climate Change Engagement, Hughes Hall, Cambridge University 31 October – Annual lecture at the RSA President’s Lecture event and Dinner 4 November – Speech at the US Resilience Mission to the UK 5 November – Keynote at the Thames Estuary Partnership 5 November – Spoke at the Flood Re & National Flood Forum Parliamentary Reception 18 November – Internal town hall event on the climate emergency in Bristol 26 November - Panel event ‘What Businesses Need to Know about Sustainability’ hosted by Headland Consultancy

E&B focused activity 14 October – Visit to South Acre Farm, North Yorkshire with Tony Juniper, Natural England Chair 22 October – Attended Food Standards Agency Parliamentary reception 23 October – Attended the British Trust for Ornithology Reception 29 October - Interview with the National Physical Laboratory 26 November – Attended the Launch of Cambridge Zero

FCRM focused activity 25 October – visit to Marker Wadden (climate buffer project in the Netherlands), organised by Patrick Verkooijen (CEO Global Center on Adaptation) 28 October – Incident focused visit to Tewkesbury, Upton, Kempsey & Worcester. Engaged with local staff and area incident room and visited River Severn to see high water levels 8 November – Incident focused visit to Leeds and Doncaster. Engaged with local staff and visited high water levels at River Don 11 November – Incident focused visit to Worksop and Retford in Nottinghamshire. Engaging with local staff operating pumps and monitoring levels, and local residents who experienced flooding

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13 November – Chaired incident Board call 14 November – Incident focused visit with Tamara Finkelstein to Fishlake, Bentley & Thorpe Marsh. Visit to the Leeds incident room, as well as members of the community who were flooded, and Environment Agency staff operating pumps 20 November – Visit with Minette Batters (NFU President) to Farms in South Yorkshire 26 November – All staff call on autumn flooding 27 November – Visit to Lincoln, meeting with Internal Drainage Board’s and land owners to discuss recent weather related flooding 29 November – Visit to Calder Valley to visit the Mytholmroyd flood alleviation scheme

Key Green Finance/Resilience activity 10 October – Finance for the Future Awards ceremony 15 October – Sustainable Finance Dinner 21 October – International Green Finance Coordination Group meeting 23 October – Green Finance Institute pension session 6 November – Breakfast with Rhian Mari Thomas (CEO Green Finance Institute) 6 November – Attended the Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment working dinner 22 November - Jo Corlett and David Hayman - Make My Money Matter catch up Key Stakeholder Engagements

10 October – Call with Lord Deben (Chair of the UK's independent Committee on Climate Change) 14 October – Attended WWF ‘Where the World Turns’ event 15 October – Attended Defra Secretary of State keynote on the Environment Bill 17 October – Moderated the Net Zero Summit with Tony Juniper 18 October – Meeting with Ellen Fay (Director), and Matt Orman (co-director) from the Sustainable Soils Alliance 22 October – Meeting with Tim Eggar (Chair of the Oil and Gas Authority) 22 October – Meeting with Rob Light (Chair) and Tony Smith (Chief Executive) from Consumer Council for Water 22 October – Meeting with Allan Cook (Chair of HS2) 23 October –Meeting with Tim Wainwright, WaterAid Chief Executive 24 October – Meeting with David Matthews (Head of Prosperity, British Embassy in Netherlands) and Peter Wilson (British Ambassador to the Netherlands) 24 October – Meeting with Dominic Molloy (Finance lead, Global Center on Adaptation) 29 October – Attended Institution of Civil Engineers private roundtable – How can infrastructure contribute to the UK's 2050 net-zero target? 30 October – Meeting with Guy Orpen (Deputy Vice Chancellor New Campus Development, Bristol University) 31 October – Meeting with Rob Woodward (Chair of the Met Office) 7 November - Meeting with Andrew Duff (Chair of Severn Trent) 7 November – Meeting with Anouka Dhadda (Number 10) 14 November – Call with Shaun Spiers Executive Director of Green Alliance)

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21 November - Bristol Leaders Group breakfast briefing on the climate crisis, hosted by the Mayor of Bristol 21 November – Mark Carney (Governor of the Bank of England) call 22 November – Committee on Climate Change Adaptation Committee Meeting, joined session focused on Green Finance 22 November – Meeting with Resilience First, Michael Rooney (CEO) and Robert Hall (Executive Director) 25 November – Attended EY FTSE Dinner 26 November – Meeting with Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands followed by roundtable discussion co-hosted with Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen on adaptation and resilience 26 November – Meeting with Caroline Saunders (Consul-General in Calgary, Canada) 27 November – Attended the Aldersgate Group event “General Election 2019: Putting the UK on track for net zero emissions and a healthier environment” COP25/COP26 Engagements

5 November – Attended Adaptation and Resilience COP26 Surgery

Other business: Recommendation for Approval at Board Meeting

Appendix 1 – UN Climate Change Conference COP25 itinerary

MONDAY 2 DECEMBER

16.00 – 17.45: Heads of State and Government Dialogue with the Civil Society: “Enhancing Action Together” – roundtable hosted by President of Spain Panellist on session 1 – ‘Building a safer world’ alongside His Excellency, Denis Sassou Nguesso (President of the Republic of Congo), His Excellency, Mr. David Sassoli (President of the European Parliament), Dr. Thelma Krug (IPCC Vicechair) and Mr. Alejandro Quecedo (SEO/BirdLife)

MONDAY 9 DECEMBER

08.30 – 10.00: Adaptation Commissioner Breakfast Informal time to talk together about the Year of Action, share ideas and plan for the coming months. Hosted by Andrew Steer, President and CEO of World Resources Initiative Hotel Meliá Barajas Hotel, Av de Logroño, 305, Madrid. Restaurant

12.15 – 13.30: Lunch with Peter Damgaard Jensen CEO of Danish Pension Fund PKA, Chair of Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, Danish Commissioner, GCA Meet at the Chilean Pavilion between 12.15‐12.30

15.00 – 18.00: Meeting of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action Panellist at "Session I: Investment Resilience and Infrastructure Risk Management" alongside His Excellency Aiyaz Sayed‐Khaiyum (Attorney General and Minister for Economy, Fiji), His Excellency Pierre Gramegna (Minister for Finance, Luxembourg), Ms Emma Navarro (Vice‐President European Investment Bank), His Excellency Humberto Colmán (Vice Minister of Economy, Paraguay (TBC)), His Excellency Theodoro Skylakakis (Deputy Minister of Finance, Greece (TBC)).


Room 25‐ High Level segment, IFEMA

18.30 – 20.00: Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change event Panellist on “Panel 1: Investor commitments to align with the Paris Agreement” Moderated by Sagarika Chatterjee. Fellow panellists: Peter Jensen, James Bevan (CCLA) and Divya Mankikar (CalPERS) Room 3, Area 4, UK Pavilion

TUESDAY 10 DECEMBER

08.00 – 11.00: 10th Annual OECD High‐Level Breakfast Event on Institutional Investors and the Low‐Carbon, Sustainable Transition Convening senior representatives from leading institutional investors, international financial institutions, policymakers, regulators, businesses and civil society for an action‐oriented discussion on how different stakeholders can accelerate low‐carbon, sustainable infrastructure investment through existing and emerging investment channels. Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel & Conference Center, Aragon avenue, 400, 28022, Madrid

10.00 – 11.00: Hosting the Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment panel event “Pricing Climate Risk into Investment Decision Making” Panel moderated by Rhian‐Mari Thomas. Fellow panellists: Rowan Douglas (Willis Towers Watson), Peter Jensen, Alan Smith (HSBC). UK Pavilion, Area 8, IFEMA Conference Centre – Feria de Madrid

11.30 – 12.30: High Level Forum of GCA Convening Countries ‐ Raising Ambition ahead of the 2020 Climate Adaptation Summit


Moderated roundtable dialogue with Ministerial and other high‐level interventions. Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), will moderate. The GCA, an international organization hosted by the Netherlands, together with international partners, is leading support for the Climate Adaptation Summit. Benelux Pavillion (Blue Area), Dutch Pavillion

13.15 – 15.00: COP25 Joint‐MDB event on Paris Alignment Approach The event will showcase MDBs commitment to climate action ahead of the critical next COP in Glasgow in 2020. It will reference key elements put forward in the joint statement at the UNSG Climate Summit (launched publicly on 23 September 2019). Joint‐MDB Pavilion, Madrid, Spain

16.00 ‐ 17.15: Making Climate Resilience the norm ‐ the GCA’s Year of Action for Infrastructure Panellist alongside: Rowan Douglas, Emma Navarro (EIB), Ingrid Hoven (BMZ), Kamal Kishore (Government of India). World Bank Pavilion, Building 8, COP25 Venue (IFEMA)

Evening: Green Finance Institute Reception

18.30 – 22.00: Closing remarks at 4th Annual Private Sector Climate Resilience and Adaptation Investment Side Event This discussion will focus on the current state of adaptation finance, progress of existing initiatives, and exciting new developments in investment in resilience and adaptation. Speakers include: Barbara Buchner, Jay Koh, Ben Caldecott, Gianleo Frisari, Carlos Sanchez, Martin Berg, Barbara Schnell, Serena Shi. Closing remarks by Emma Howard Boyd. Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel & Conference Center, Bar Lounge, Mezzanine Level, Av. De Aragón, 400, 28022


WEDNESDAY 11 DECEMBER

09.00 – 10.30: Keynote address ‘Adaptation to climate change – vision and strategy’ Co‐hosted by the Climate Change Department, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation of China (NCSC), Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) China and the World Resource Institute (WRI), for the purpose of raising awareness of climate change adaptation, providing a platform for exchanges of national strategies, policies and mechanisms, actions and measures China Pavilion

10.30 – 11.30: Meeting with Lindy Fursman (Chief Advisor for Climate Change at the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment) and Cheryl Barnes (New Zealand Ministry’s Deputy Secretary for Water and Climate) UK or NZ Delegation Offices

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Board meeting

Thursday 12 December 2019 Item no. 6.2

Sponsor: James Bevan, Chief Executive

Title: Chief Executive’s Update

Please clearly state what decision you are seeking from the meeting The Board is asked to note the update on key topics since the last meeting. Governance What meetings/groups have already reviewed this item? NA

What meetings/groups need to review this item next? NA

Are there any risks associated with the evidence and analysis in the paper? None How will the key messages/decisions be communicated? This paper will be published on GOV.uk. Legal Services have been consulted and confirm no legal annex is required. Legal advice provided by: Peter Kellett

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1.0 November 2019 flooding update 1.1 The Met Office has confirmed the rainfall over Sheffield between 1 September

2019 and 21 November 2019 (440.8mm) exceeded the record total for autumn (425mm). Thursday 7 November 2019 was the seventh wettest day on record in Sheffield (when 63.8mm of rain fell). Large parts of central and eastern England had twice the normal level of rainfall in October, and in central parts of England a month’s worth of rainfall fell in the early part of November.

1.2 The highest ever river levels were recorded on the Don at Doncaster and

Derwent in Derby, exceeding 2007 flood levels in places. Levels in the River Witham over this period were the highest ever recorded between Lincoln and Bardney. The River Ancholme also reached record levels and in the West Midlands some rivers in parts of Herefordshire and Worcestershire were the highest since 1988.

1.3 The most significant flooding impacts were seen along the River Don in South

Yorkshire. The main areas that flooded in South Yorkshire were Fishlake and Bentley. Approximately 1,000 properties flooded during the event, mostly in South Yorkshire. In Nottinghamshire, properties were flooded in Worksop and Retford as well as in several rural communities, and in Derbyshire there was flooding in Matlock and the surrounding areas. There was one confirmed fatality – Mrs Annie Hall, who tragically died after being caught in floodwater in the River Derwent at Darley Dale, near Matlock, Derbyshire.

1.4 At the height of the flooding, over 400 Environment Agency staff worked

around the clock alongside emergency response teams and incident rooms were open 24/7. Environment Agency flood defences protected over 22,000 homes and businesses so far this winter.

1.5 During the incident the Environment Agency deployed its national mobile flood

assets. This included the mobilisation of over 100 pumps (including 5 Ultra High Volume Pumps), over 4km of temporary flood barriers, 4 Incident Command Units and other plant and equipment.

1.6 In Lincolnshire some Washlands have been used more in the last month than

in the previous 30 years. Holding over 7.3 million cubic metres of water, they protected around 8,000 properties in Lincoln, Louth, Horncastle and Market Rasen.

1.7 Our teams continue to monitor river levels, maintain flood defences, clear river

blockages and are ready to issue warnings to keep people safe from flooding this winter. Recovery Teams are in place supporting communities, repairing assets and repatriating equipment in order to be prepared for the next event.

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1.8 Environment Agency teams are engaging with the National Farmers’ Union and local Internal Drainage Boards at an area and regional level. Teams are also working with other partners on joint positions on the incident, meeting farmers and discussing approaches to making space for water.

1.9 Catchments across much of England are saturated and hence very sensitive

to rainfall. This means the base level of flood risk is higher and it will take a lot less rain than it ordinarily would at this point in the year to result in flooding.

2.0 Regulating for People the Environment and Growth Report 2.1 Every year the Environment Agency publishes its Regulating for People, the

Environment and Growth (RPEG) report. The 2018 report was published on 25 October 2019.

2.2 The report received coverage in an ENDs report and other trade media. It

contains an overview of the regulatory performance of all businesses that hold environmental permits in England and shows the effectiveness of the Environment Agency’s regulatory approach.

2.3 The report shows the majority of England’s regulated businesses are working

to protect the environment and support prosperity, although more work is needed to reduce serious pollution incidents and illegal waste activity. The report highlights:

a record 72% of the waste produced by activities with permits was recovered, and high levels of bathing water quality have been maintained;

92% of operators demonstrated good compliance with their environmental permit conditions;

greenhouse gas emissions from industry have been cut by half in the last 10 years and compliance rates of energy efficiency and emissions trading schemes are above 98%;

there were 533 serious pollution incidents in 2018, 14% fewer than 10 years ago, but 27% more than in 2017;

912 illegal waste sites were closed down by the Environment Agency in 2018, a 12% increase on the previous year;

896 new illegal waste sites were discovered last year, blotting the country’s landscapes and undercutting legitimate businesses; and

prosecutions brought by the Environment Agency resulted in almost £2.8 million in fines for environmental offences.

2.4 The full report is available: www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulating-for-people-the-environment-and-growth.

3.0 Illegal Exports 3.1 In 2018/19 the Environment Agency;

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inspected 926 shipping containers at port and returned 236 of those to sites due to the unsuitability of the waste to be exported; and

prevented 12,690t of waste from reaching ports which may otherwise have been illegally exported through our increasing focus on upstream intervention. Repatriation costs to the UK would have been an estimated £1.1 million.

3.2 The Environment Agency is increasingly focussing efforts on the export of

waste via roll on, roll off ferry terminals, and is strengthening ties with foreign competent authorities, increasingly sharing intelligence and best practice. Evidence suggests this mode of transport is now being used to hide criminality. The Environment Agency is not currently funded to repatriate waste illegally exported from England.

3.3 Formal notification has been received for the need to repatriate;

42 containers of waste plastic illegally exported from the Malaysian authorities; and

up to 1500t of waste illegally exported from the Polish authorities. In addition:

It is anticipated a request from the Sri Lankan authorities to repatriate 241 containers of waste illegally exported will be received.

Indonesian authorities have been notified (by the Environment Agency) of up to 8000t of waste that was illegally exported from England. The Indonesian authorities have responded to say that they recognise the issue and suggest that an official repatriation request will be sent in due course.

3.4 The Environment Agency is;

committed to tackling the illegal export of waste and the Defra Resources and Waste Strategy outlines Government ambition to reform the ways in which waste is managed in England.

fully committed to strengthening the regulatory controls for the waste regimes namely transfrontier shipments, producer responsibility and carriers, brokers & dealers and are working with Defra to deliver change. Elements of each of the regimes has a direct influence on the export of waste. A consultation for reform of the UK packaging waste - producer responsibility system is currently underway and this will be followed by a consultation on the reform of waste exports regulation in 2020.

4.0 Moratorium on hydraulic fracturing 4.1 On 2 November 2019 the Government announced a moratorium on hydraulic

fracturing with immediate effect. Their decision was informed by the Oil and Gas Authority’s scientific reports into hydraulic fracturing operations at the Preston New Road site in Lancashire.

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4.2 The Government concluded it is not possible with current technology to accurately predict the probability and magnitude of tremors associated with fracking.

4.3 The moratorium pauses hydraulic fracturing until future evidence is provided

to demonstrate that it is safe, sustainable and of minimal disturbance to those living and working nearby.

4.4 The Government also announced that they will not take forward the separate

proposals to reform the planning process for fracking sites. 4.5 Environment Agency staff continue to carry out on site checks. 5.0 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) UK Review 5.1 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) peer reviewed the

Environment Agency and 14 other UK regulators during October 2019. 5.2 The Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) Mission, with its 18 senior

experts from across the globe, looked at the UK’s arrangements for regulating nuclear safety, radiological safety, transport, medical uses and interface with security.

5.3 This has been a massive exercise for the Environment Agency’s Radioactive

Substances Regulation teams in Environment & Business, Operations and Legal. It started 18 months’ ago with a self-assessment against the IAEA’s standards and preparation of reference material to send to the Mission team before they arrived.

5.4 During the Mission, the Environment Agency took part in 15 interviews, three

policy discussions, and staff were observed inspecting at both a nuclear facility and a hospital.

5.5 The IAEA confirmed that the UK is committed to strengthening its regulatory

framework for nuclear and radiation safety. The Mission team identified areas across the UK’s regulatory framework that would benefit from further enhancement, and there are specific ‘findings’ for the Environment Agency.

5.6 The UK also received two ‘good practices’ as part of the Mission and it is a

fantastic outcome that one of the ‘good practices’ relates to the joint way of working with the security services. The IAEA define a ‘good practice’, “in recognition of an outstanding organisation, arrangement, programme or performance superior to those generally observed elsewhere in the world.”

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6.0 Water Resource Management Plans

6.1 Minister Pow gave permission for a further seven water companies to publish their water resources management plans at the end of October 2019, leaving two companies plans unpublished. These two companies are on a delayed timescale as they re-consulted on their plans. The Secretary of State has asked these two companies for further information before they are allowed to publish. These requests are for;

more information around the decision point for the company’s joint strategic resource (potentially a new reservoir and transfers) and the alignment of the two plans

how the risk around leakage will be managed how chalk streams within its boundaries can be further protected.

7.0 Water Resources National Framework 7.1 2019 has seen periods of prolonged low rainfall and depleted groundwater

levels in parts of the south east and east of England; a trend we have been experiencing since 2016. This is having a damaging impact on the river ecology and wildlife in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, Suffolk, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. Only sustained winter rainfall in these parts of England will fully replenish ground waters and rivers for 2020. Together with national and local partners, the Environment Agency is striving to limit the damage low groundwater is having and ensuring water supplies are sustainable for the future. This includes: immediate action to reduce pressure on vulnerable catchments; helping develop long term plans to reduce our reliance on chalk streams; and working with abstractors to find local, catchment-based solutions.

7.2 Climate change and population growth will put even more pressure on water resources. The Environment Agency is playing a leading role in ensuring there are resilient water resources for the future; instigating planning at a national and regional scale, requiring water companies and other water users to cooperate to make the most of the water we have.

7.3 The National Framework will be published early next year. This will identify

strategic water needs for England and its regions across all sectors up to and beyond 2050.

James Bevan December 2019

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Board Meeting


Sponsor: Board Governance Team

Title: Board Committee Meetings update

Please clearly state what decision you are seeking from the meeting The Board is asked to:

1. Note the substantive agenda items discussed at Environment and Business Committee, Flood and Coastal Risk Management Committee, People and Pay Committee, Pensions Committee and ARAC since October 2019.

Key points for discussion Committee Chairs will be asked to highlight particular areas of note for the Board.

Governance What meetings/groups have already reviewed this item? N/A

What meetings/groups need to review this item next? N/A

Are there any risks associated with the evidence and analysis in the paper? No How will the key messages/decisions be communicated? Through an oral update during the Board meeting.

No legal annex is required.

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1.0 Introduction 1.1 This paper provides a summary of substantive agenda items that have been

discussed at Committee meetings since the last full Board meeting on 9 October 2019.

2.0 Flood and Coastal Risk Management (FCRM) Committee 2.1 The FCRM Committee met on 16 October 2019. Substantive items discussed:

GiA Indicative Allocation National Adaptation Plan (with Kathryn Brown and Prof Richard Dawson

from the Committee on Climate Change) Finance update Autumn Budget (with Sally Randall, Defra Director, Floods and Water) FCRM strategy.

3.0 Environment and Business Committee 3.1 The Environment and Business Committee has not met since the last Board

meeting on 9 October. 4.0 People and Pay Committee 4.1 The People and Pay Committee met on 2 December 2019. Substantive items

discussed were:

Update on 2019 Pay negotiations Pension contribution rates.

5.0 Pensions Committee and Pensions Board 5.1 The Investment Sub-Committee had a call on 15 October 2019 and met on 28

November 2019. Substantive items discussed were: Currency hedging Emerging Markets Equity disinvestment Strategic monitoring and performance Environment Agency Pension Fund investment strategy update Brunel Pensions Partnership update Risk register.

5.2 The Pensions Committee have not met since the last Board meeting on 9 October 2019.

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6.0 Audit and Risk Assurance Committee 6.1 The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) will meet on 9 December

2019. Substantive items to be discussed are:

NAO Audit Planning report 6 monthly Fraud and Money Laundering report 6 monthly Whistleblowing report Public Safety near Environment Agency flood assets Finance update, including: Financial transparency, Capital Programme

reporting and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 16 leases Pensions and Brunel Partnership – risk update Corporate Management and Defra Corporate Services including SSCL update Annual review of the committee.

6.2 The Committee also welcomed Sarah Homer (Defra Chief Operating Officer) for a guest slot to discuss our ongoing relationship with Defra Corporate Services.

Board Governance Team 3 December 2019

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Environment Agency Board Meeting

Thursday 12 December 2019 Item no. 13 Appendix 1: Corporate Scorecard Quarter Two July 2019 to September 2019

Sponsor: Pat Bolster, Director of Finance

Title: Environment Agency Corporate Scorecard July to September 2019 (Quarter Two 2019/20)

1.0 Summary of year to date performance at quarter two and key issues

1.1 At the end of quarter two 2019/20, the status of our performance measures is as follows: Measure status Number of measures*

Green 6

Amber 4

Red 3

Total 13*

* NB. There are twelve measures, however the diversity measure is comprised of two parts and so the number of reds, ambers and greens in the above table adds up to 13.

Please clearly state what decision you are seeking from the meeting The Board is asked to comment on:

a) performance for the financial year 2019/20, year to date at quarter 2 b) the actions indicated in the corporate scorecard report (Appendix 1)

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2. Corporate Scorecard Measures

NB. Measures in bold in this paper are reported quarterly to the Defra Board via the Defra group Scorecard.

Measure Comment

2 EA 1: The water environment is healthier

Performance 82%

Actual 1,489km;

Target 1,816km.

NB. The measure is rated green at 90%

or above. Amber is greater than 75%

but less than or equal to 90%.

Performance less than 75% is rated as

Red.

AMBER – Working with partners, we have enhanced a further 538km of the water environment, bringing the total to 1,489km for 2019/20 and 6,479km since the publication of the 2015 updated river basin management plans. The majority of the enhancements reported this quarter have been achieved through the Area Environment Programme, and Area Flood & Coastal Risk Management programmes. Work has focused on improving the fish and eel passage across the country - an example of this is the Thames European Eels project. We have also improved habitats and by the planting of 9,000 acres with cover crops to reduce diffuse pollution. Natural flood risk management work has also contributed to enhancements in this quarter.

We have also undertaken works to protect 862km of water bodies from deterioration. The majority of these have been to protect the River Exe in Devon, a principal salmon river. We intervened following the collapse of a weir in Exeter to maintain flows in the river, ensuring adult salmon continue to be able to access all parts of the catchment.

2 EA 2: We protect people, the environment and wildlife by reducing serious environmental incidents

Performance 98%;

Actual 390;

Ceiling Target 400.

NB. The measure is rated green at

100% or lower. Amber is greater than

100% but less than or equal to 110%.

Performance over 110% is rated as

Red.

GREEN – 95 serious incidents were recorded for quarter two 2019/20. This compares with 147 at this stage last year.

Compared to 2018/19 we experienced a reduced number of incidents and this is attributed to less extreme summer weather. This time last year there were 539 incidents recorded compared with the 390 incidents recorded that we currently have. Of the 390 incidents in the rolling twelve month total, 26 of these are attributed to natural causes. The ceiling target for the year is a limit of 400.

2 EA 3: We create new habitat

This measure reports in the fourth

quarter; Target 1,280 hectares. The

year‐end forecast is Green

GREEN – Several areas are now likely to exceed their targets, mainly because long-standing legal issues have now been resolved. Cumbria and Lancashire expect to contribute an extra 69 hectares, Hertfordshire and North London 29 hectares and Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire 82 hectares. Despite the losses notified in quarter one we expect to beat the target by 73 hectares.

2 EA 4: We reduce the number of high risk illegal waste sites

RED – During quarter two the number of active high risk sites increased, for the third quarter in succession, from 260 to 264

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Measure Comment

Performance 135%;

Actual 264;

End of year Ceiling Target 196.

NB. The measure is rated green at

100% or lower. Amber is greater than

100% but less than or equal to 110%.

Performance over 110% is rated as

Red.

whilst the total number of all active sites remained static at 691. Six areas recorded quarter two reductions in their number of high risk sites, and whilst seven areas remain under their baseline totals, we are red against the quarter two profiled target of 223. The number of active sites over two years old has now risen to 215. On average it is taking us 237 days to stop an illegal waste site despite 49% of new sites being stopped in less than 90 days. There is a growing risk from the increasing age profile of active sites which merits greater focus in tandem with early intervention at new sites. Our enforcement strategy is approaching sign-off and we have begun drafting a waste enforcement strategy to ensure the effective deployment of resource in tackling waste crime. We know that EU Exit and other pressures are affecting our ability to direct enough resource to this work and we are working to understand what more we can do to reduce illegal waste site numbers in the short term. We continue to train and embed the additional staff funded by the £30m for waste crime and ensure our evaluation is focussed on identifying our most effective interventions.

2 EA 5: We reduce the risk of flooding for more households

Performance 102%;

Actual 200,425;

Q2 Target: 196,000

End of year Target 240,000.

GREEN – 30 separate projects have better protected 5,170 homes in quarter two of 2019/20 bringing the cumulative total since April 2015 to 200,425.

We are forecasting the cumulative delivery at the end of 2019/20 to be over 250,000 against a target of 240,000 and the programme remains on track to better protect 300,000 homes by the end of March 2021.

2 EA 6: We maintain our flood and coastal risk management assets at or above the target condition

Actual 96.9%;

Target 98.0%.

AMBER – The national position for Environment Agency high consequence asset condition has reduced slightly to 96.9%. This reflects the inspection programme being more front end loaded whilst asset repairs tend to be delivered later in the year. We are forecasting to complete repairs by year end and achieve a green result.

Where assets are below the required condition this identifies that work is required, this does not mean that they have structurally failed or that performance in a flood is compromised. If the performance of an asset is reduced, we will take action to ensure that flood risk is effectively managed until the asset is fully repaired or replaced.

of 6

Measure Comment

2 EA 7: We have a first class incident response capabilitynumber of staff who are trained and ready to respond to incidents

Performance 108%;

Actual 6,460 staff;

Target 6,000 staff.

GREEN – We estimate that there are 6,460 trained and capable incident staff ready to respond to incidents. This is 108% of the target 6,000.

There has been a small reduction on last quarter's figures, reflecting natural staff turnover and ongoing work by role leads to improve assessment of role capability and quality assurance of the information recorded.

We continue to maintain a strong pool of around 800 people in training who will contribute to our trained and ready workforce as they become capable and confident in their roles.

We also have an additional 200 staff from core Defra who support communications during incidents.

2 EA 8: We successfully influence planning decisions by local authorities

Actual 96.5%

Target 97%.

AMBER – Performance for quarter two is 96.5% against a target of 97% and therefore amber. There were 43 applications not determined in line with our advice, 10 of which were for ‘major’ development.

The majority of objections made related to flood risk issues, with seven instances of local planning authorities (LPAs) not insisting on flood risk assessments to be undertaken when required, which is against government planning policy. LPAs have also overruled our advice in relation to land contamination, pollution control and biodiversity matters.

Areas will be asked to investigate why LPAs are not making decisions in line with our advice and implement measures to address this. With appropriate plans in place this measure should be green by the end of the year.

Decisions captured this quarter show how working with developers and LPAs has helped resolve significant environmental issues that could otherwise have led to planning applications for 9,481 new residential units being refused. These residential developments will help contribute around £160m to UK economic output.

4 EA 9: We manage our money effectively to deliver our outcomes

Performance 93%;

Actual £574m;

Target £618m (100%).

AMBER – We invested 43% of full year budget in the first half of 2019/20. This is a little below the proportion invested to the same point last year (45%), although the amount invested this year is higher than in 2018/19 (£574m vs £558m). EDT in October reviewed the mid-year position including full year forecast spend versus funding, and agreed a number of actions to ensure best use of our available funding for the environment.

4 EA 10: We reduce our carbon footprint

GREEN – We are 9% under the mid-year target and the emissions remain similar to the same period last year.

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Measure Comment

Performance 91%;

Actual 14,019;

Target 15,438

End of year target 30,876 tonnes

Due to prolonged dry weather conditions during quarter one and quarter two last year, our operational pumping emissions were high. This year our emissions increased in quarter one due to operation of Ely-Ouse Transfer Scheme following maintenance work but balanced out by significant reduction in operation during quarter two.

The emissions from our mobile fuel is slightly higher due to purchase of extra fuel in some areas to ensure all our tanks /bowsers remain full in preparation for EU Exit. However the emissions from the monitoring team's boats is down due to one of the Solent guardian boats being out of use for three months due to repairs.

4 EA 11: We have a diverse workforce: a) proportion of staff from a Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background

Actual 4.3%;

Target 14%.

RED – There were 15 new BAME recruits this quarter out of a total of 264 new starters, which represents 5.7% of all external recruits, close to the mean value of 6.2% for the whole period beginning quarter one 2016/17. There was a small net increase in headcount from 455 in quarter one 2019/20 to 459, and the proportion of BAME employees in the Environment Agency remained at 4.3%; the 2016/20 target is 14%.

The Environment Agency has a suite of initiatives underway to move us towards our aspirations. These include promoting more community / university focused outreach work, unconscious bias training for recruiting managers, development programmes and mentoring for BAME staff, reviews of exit interviews, an EDT ‘Race Action Plan’, a refreshed resourcing strategy with all vacancies now placed on the VERCIDA online portal, blind sifting of CVs in recruitment, the "increase the pace on race" events, a more engaged BAME network and more active communication on our ethnic diversity.

4 EA 11: We have a diverse workforce:

b) proportion of our executive managers who are female

Actual 41%;

Target 50%.

RED – The percentage of female Executive Managers (EMs) is 41%, which is unchanged from the previous quarter, with the headcount only having risen by 1 from the previous quarter to 37. This compares to a target of 50%. The equivalent figure for the UK Civil Service is 45%, which has increased from 39% in 2016. The percentage of female Grade 7 employees has fallen slightly to 32% (153), resulting from the very slight decrease in headcount in the context of a rise in the overall Grade 7 headcount from 471 to 473; the percentage has changed little over the last six quarters. This compares to a target of 50% and an equivalent Civil Service figure of 45%.

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Measure Comment

4 EA 12: We provide a safe place to work: Lost Time Frequency Incident Rate per 100,000 hours worked

Actual 0.11;

Ceiling target 0.11.

GREEN – Lost Time Incident Frequency Rate (LTIFR) is a universally accepted lagging indicator of health and safety performance. We define lost time incidents as work related injuries resulting in a day or more lost time. Using such a conservative definition, plus a very low ceiling of 0.11 injuries per 100,000 hours worked, creates a very challenging aspiration for our overall Health Safety and Wellbeing (HSW) performance. The fact that we are usually close to this ceiling indicates that all the steps we have been undertaking to manage and further improve our HSW are delivering results in terms of reduced numbers of injuries to our people. In quarter two our rate remained the same as quarter one, which continues to represent a significant improvement on the previous year.

These HSW improvements most recently include improvements in Field Operations teams specifically by refining the training, planning and managing of construction work. We have also reviewed incident response; induction training; and emphasis on near miss reporting and active monitoring, amongst many other things. We also continue to improve our processes for learning from LTIs and Safety Critical Incidents (SCIs), including recently extending the range of incidents that our trained reviewers investigate.

Pat Bolster Director of Finance December 2019

Units Q2 Actual Q2 TargetYear end target Q2 status

Year endforecast Page

Kilometres 1,489 1,816 2,300 Amber Amber 2

Number of incidents in the last 12 months

390 400 400 Green Amber3a3b3c

Hectares createdReports in

Q4Reports in

Q41,280

HectaresGreen Green 4

Number of high risk illegal waste sites

264 196 196 Red Red 5

Number of households better protected

200,425 196,000 240,000 Green Green 6

% of high risk assets at target condition

96.9% 98.0% 98.0% Amber Green 7

Number of people

6,460 6,000 6,000 Green Green 8

% decision notices successfully influenced

96.5% 97.0% 97.0% Amber Green 9

% spend tobudget

93% 100% 100% Amber Green 10

Tonnes of carbon dioxide

14,019 15,438 30,876 Green Green 11

% of workforce 4.3% 14% 14% Red Red 12

% of executive manager workforce

41% 50% 50% Red Red 12

LTI frequency rate per 100,000 hours

0.11 0.11 0.11 Green Green 13

a) The proportion of our staff who are from a black, asian and minority ethnic (BAME)background

b) The proportion of our executive managers who are female

4 EA 12 We have the lowest possible lost time incident (LTI) frequency rate

4 EA 10 We reduce our carbon footprint

4 EA 11 We have a diverse workforce:

4 EA 9 We manage our money effectively

2 EA 8 We successfully influence planning decisions by local authorities

2 EA 3 We increase biodiversity and promote an environmental net gain by creating more and better habitats for the benefit of people and wildlife (DEFRA)

Objective 2: Protecting and improving the environment

2 EA 1 The water environment is healthier (DEFRA)

2 EA 2 We protect people, the environment and wildlife by reducing serious environmental incidents (DEFRA)

2 EA 4 We reduce the number of high risk Illegal waste sites (DEFRA)

2 EA 5 We reduce the risk of flooding for more households (DEFRA)

2 EA 6 We maintain our flood and coastal risk management assets at or above the target condition (DEFRA)

2 EA 7 We have a first class incident response capability - number of staff who are trained and ready to respond to incidents (DEFRA)

Objective 4: Outstanding organisation

Environment AgencyCorporate scorecard 2019 to 2020

Quarter 2 - Year to dateFinancial Year April 2019 - March 2020

Status Actual (Km) TargetAmber 1,489 1,816 Amber

Action(s) Owner(s) Deadline(s)31/12/2019

Year end forecast Year end target (Km)2,300

Kilometres of rivers, lakes and coastal waters enhanced this year During quarter two we and our partners have enhanced a further 538km of the water environment, bringing the total to 1,489km for 2019/20 and 6,479km since the publication of the 2015 updated river basin management plans. The majority of the enhancements reported this quarter have been achieved through the Area Environment Programme, and Area Flood & Coastal Risk Management programmes. Work has focussed on improving the fish and eel passage across the country, for example, in Thames area as part of the Thames European Eels project. We have also improved habitat within a number of water bodies; for example, the restoration of Holt Heath mire in Wessex area, and in North Lincolnshire, has enhanced 36km by planting 9,000 acres with cover crops to reduce diffuse pollution. Natural flood management work has also contributed to enhancements in this quarter. We have also undertaken works to protect 862km of water bodies from deterioration. The majority of these have been from protecting the River Exe in Devon, a principal salmon river. We intervened following the collapse of a weir in Exeter to maintain flows in the river, ensuring adult salmon continue to be able to access all parts of the catchment.

Insight cumulative totals

Actions

Area leads to continue to capture km enhanced because these still need to be reported as they are a "protect" measure.

Area Reporting Leads

1,2131,426

1,719

951

1,489

1,345

1,602

2,000

970

1,816

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

2018/19 Q2 2018/19 Q3 2018/19 Q4 2019/20 Q1 2019/20 Q2

Targets (Kilometres)

The numbers shown below are cumulative totals within each financial year only

Objective 2 A cleaner, healthier environment, benefiting people and the economy2 EA 1 The water environment is healthier

Q2 2019/20 Owners: Executive Directors of Environment and Business and Operations

4,483 4,696 4,9895,939

6,479

4,0764,333

4,731

5,959

6,805

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

2018/19 Q2 2018/19 Q3 2018/19 Q4 2019/20 Q1 2019/20 Q2Cumulative Actual Target 2021 Target

Targets (Kilometres)

2021 Target (Kilometres)

a

Status Actual (+10%) Actual minus Natural Cause Ceiling Target Year end forecastGreen 390 429 400 Amber

Number of Category 1 & 2 environmental incidents by sector insight - breakdown by main subsectors

Year end target400

Number of Category 1 and 2 environmental incidents by reported date

364

Objective 2 Protecting and improving the environment

2 EA 2 We protect people, the environment and wildlife by reducingserious environmental incidents, Part 1 of 3Q2 2019/20 Owners: Executive Directors of Environment and Business and Operations

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35Category 1 and 2 incidents from illegal waste

management

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35Category 1 and 2 incidents from the water company

sector

0

5

10

15

20

2018 Oct-Dec 2019 Jan-Mar 2019 Apr-Jun 2019 Jul-Sept

Category 1 and 2 incidents from illegal waste management by type

Illegal Waste SiteFly-TippingUnauthorised Waste Management ActivityBurning of Waste

0

2

4

6

8

10

2018 Oct-Dec 2019 Jan-Mar 2019 Apr-Jun 2019 Jul-Sep

Category 1 and 2 incidents from the main contributors to the water company sector

(>=5 incidents in the period)

Foul Sewer Pumping Station

Sewage Treatment Works Water Distribution System

Rising Main

436 631 631 553 496 400 400 400 400 400

696 602 507 495 430 539 533 518489 390

0

200

400

600

800

2013/14 Q4 2014/15 Q4 2015/16 Q4 2016/17 Q4 2017/18 Q4 2018/19 Q2 2018/19 Q3 2018/19 Q4 2019/20 Q1 2019/20 Q2

12 month total to the end of the period shown

cat1 cat2 +10% Q Total Actual Cat 1 and 2 shown

Ceiling target

After seeing a significant rise in pollution incidents in 2013 we have targeted the sectors showing the poorest performance. For each sector we developed Pollution Incident Reduction Plans which we are now delivering. Incidents can be weather-related and will continue to show significant seasonal variations, especially as our weather patterns become more extreme.

The data shown here is using initial quarterly data which is subject to change. The results for the most recent quarters are likely to increase in future reports due to the inherent lag time in investigating and recording all the necessary incident details onto the reporting system.

b

Overview this quarter

Number of Category 1 & 2 environmental incidents by sector insight - breakdown by main subsectors

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2015

Jul-S

ep

2015

Oct

-Dec

2016

Jan-

Mar

2016

Apr

-Jun

2016

Jul-S

ep

2016

Oct

-Dec

2017

Jan-

Mar

2017

Apr

-Jun

2017

Jul-S

ep

2017

Oct

-Dec

2018

Jan-

Mar

2018

Apr

-Jun

2018

Jul-S

ep

2018

Oct

-Dec

2019

Jan-

Mar

2019

Apr

-Jun

2019

Jul-S

ep

Category 1 and 2 incidents from agriculture

0

2

4

6

8


Category 1 and 2 incidents from the main contributors to agriculture

Dairy and LivestockIntensive FarmingArable and HorticultureOther/unspecified Agriculture

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70Category 1 and 2 incidents from other

non regulated industry sectors

0

2

4

6

8

10

12


Category 1 and 2 incidents from the main contributors to other non regulated industry

sectors (>=5 incidents in the period)

Natural Source Domestic and Residential

Service Sector Manufacturing

Transport Retail Sector

Protecting and improving the environment

2EA 2 We protect people, the environment and wildlife by reducingserious environmental incidents part 2 of 3Q2 2019/20 Owners: Executive Directors of Environment and Business and Operations

81 80

67 63 60

39

21%

41%

58%

75%

90%

100%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Other non regindustry sectors

Not identified Illegal wastemanagement

Other reg ind sectors Water company Agriculture

Pareto chart to show which sectors make up the most number of category 1 and 2 environmental incidents over the last 12 months

Number of incidents Cumulative %

c


Commentary Insight1. Quarter two incident numbersAt this stage 95 serious incidents were recorded for quarter two 2019/20. This compares with 147 at this stage last year.

2. SummaryCompared to 2018/19 we experienced a reduced number of incidents and this is attributed to less extreme summer weather. This time last year there were 492 incidents recorded (subsequently increased to 539) compared with the 390 incidents recorded that we currently have. The target for the year is no more than 400. Following feedback from last quarter we are showing what the actual current number of incidents is, minus current natural cause.

3. Sector insightsa) Agriculture: In quarter two five incidents are attributed to agriculture which is significantly less than in the last five years. This is likely to be an effect of two years of drier weather. Four of these incidents are slurry related, following the trend of slurry management being the highest cause of agricultural incidents. They were caused by poor, insufficient or faulty storage. The remaining incident relates to a spillage of domestic heating oil at an agricultural premises. Quarter two covers the summer months where there are less likely to be agricultural incidents from slurry as these are more often related to winter storage, rainfall and spreading. There are no Intensive Farming Incidents this quarter which bucks the trend. b) Illegal Waste: There were nine incidents in quarter two, all of which were category two. This is the second lowest number of incidents of this type recorded since 2015. The incidents included three illegal waste sites and three illegal dumping incidents. The incidents occurred over four different areas and appear unconnected. Of the incidents, three have been recommended for prosecution, two for warning letters and one formal caution with the remainder either still under investigation or the offenders yet to be identified. We continue to tackle waste crime as a corporate priority. The Defra Resource and Waste Strategy presents a comprehensive series of actions and ambitions for tackling waste crime.c) Water Companies: Incidents in quarter two show a very slight decrease from quarter one (from 19 in quarter one to 18 in quarter two). The overall trend is consistent with seasonal fluctuations and annual totals show a broadly constant level for five years. Incidents in quarter two 2019/20 were caused by both clean water assets (three) and waste water assets (15). Of the 15 waste water incidents, there were four each from foul sewers, sewage treatment works and pumping stations, two from rising mains and one from surface water outfalls.We are progressing some work streams now and embedding the Improving Water Company Performance Programme, drawn from Environment & Business and Operations, to review and improve how we regulate to improve water company performance. In June our Operations Executive Director met water company CEOs and pressed the need for improvement. We published the annual performance report in July and used media messages to further this influence. The Secretary of State called in the company CEOs in July to press for faster performance improvements. We will build on this with a letter from James Bevan requesting pollution incident reduction plansd) Other Non-Regulated sectors: There are 21 incidents recorded in quarter two 2019/20 this compares to 62 for the same quarter of 2018/19. Much of this reduction can be attributed to incidents recorded as natural. e) Other Regulated sectors and Not Identified: There are 12 incidents from the Other Regulated Sectors. This compare with 25 for the same quarter of 2018/19. There are 30 Not Identified incidents for quarter two 2019/20. Overall this represents an increase, we will further review these to understand what can be done to identify them.

Implementing plan of short to long term initiatives as detailed in 10 April 2019 briefing, including strategic engagement by Directors to improve water company performance and practical regulatory interventions to reduce incidents

Deputy Director - Water Quality

Action(s)

Protecting an improving the environment

2 EA 2 We protect people, the environment and wildlife by reducingserious environmental incidents part 3 of 3Q2 2019/20 Owners: Executive Directors of Environment and Business and Operations

Target ForecastGreen Reports in Q4 Green

Action(s) Owner(s) Deadline(s)

Status Actual Year end targetReports in Q4 1,280 hectares (ha)

Hectares created (hectares) Several areas are now likely to exceed their targets, mainly because long-standing legal issues have been resolved. Cumbria and Lancashire expect to contribute an extra 69 hectares, Hertfordshire and North London 29 hectares and Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire 82 hectares. Taken with the losses notified in quarter one (although Yorkshire's forecast has improved to just 9.5 hectares) and a further expected loss of seven hectares in West Midlands we expect to beat the target by 73 hectares.

Actions

1,869 575 424 619 460

700

300400

530

410

1,280

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Target

Objective 2 Protecting and improving the environment2 EA 3 We increase biodiversity and promote an environmental net gain by creating more and better habitats for the benefit of people and wildlife

Status Year end forecastRed Red


31/12/2019

31/12/2019

Actual Ceiling Target Year end target264 196 196

Number of high risk illegal waste sites in England During quarter two the number of active high risk sites increased, for the third quarter in succession, from 260 to 264 whilst the total number of all active sites remained static at 691. Six areas recorded quarter two reductions in their number of high risk sites, and whilst seven areas remain under their baseline totals, we are red against the quarter two profiled target of 223. The number of active sites over two years old has now risen to 215. On average it is taking us 237 days to stop an illegal waste site despite 49% of new sites being stopped in less than 90 days. There is a growing risk from the increasing age profile of active sites which merits greater focus in tandem with early intervention at new sites. Our enforcement strategy is approaching sign-off and we have begun drafting a waste enforcement strategy to ensure the effective deployment of resource in tackling waste crime. We know that EU Exit and other pressures are affecting our ability to direct enough resource to this work and we are working to understand what more we can do to reduce illegal waste site numbers in the short term. We continue to train and embed the additional staff funded by the £30m for waste crime and ensure our evaluation is focussed on identifying our most effectiveness interventions.

Map showing spread of high risk illegal waste sites across England

Complete drafting and sign-off of a Waste Enforcement Strategy Deputy Director for Waste Regulation

Undertake an internal review of current activity to tackle illegal waste sites and identify any short term measures to reduce number of high risk sites.

Deputy Director for Waste Regulation

Actions

Commence Phase II of Waste Crime Systems Review including trialling new interventions and performance metrics.

Lead Area Director for Enforcement

380 253 259 255 260 233 250 260 264

380

242223

254 240219

196 196 196

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Baseline Q4 17/18 Q2 18/19 Q4 18/19 Q2 19/20

Objective 2 Protecting and improving the environment2 EA 4 We reduce the number of high risk illegal waste sites

Q2 2019/20 Owners: Executive Directors of Environment and Business and Operations

Ceiling Targets

Status

Green Green

Deadline(s)

ActualCumulativetarget Year end forecast Year end target

200,425 196,000 240,000

Houses protected

ActionsAction(s) Owner(s)

30 separate projects have better protected 5,170 homes in quarter two of 2019/20 bringing the cumulative total since April 2015 to 200,425.

The scheme that took us over the 200,000 homes better protected milestone was Cottingham and Orchard Park Flood Alleviation Scheme in Yorkshire Area, which better protected 1,008 homes and is forecast to better protect a further 1,042 by the end of 2019/20.

We are forecasting the cumulative delivery at the end of 2019/20 to be over 250,000 against a target of 240,000 and the programme remains on track to better protect 300,000 homes by the end of March 2021.

144,210 146,274155,385

193,604 195,255 200,425

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

Q1 18/19 Q2 18/19 Q3 18/19 Q4 18/19 Q1 19/20 Q2 19/20

6 year target to be met by the end of the financial year 2020/21

19/20 programme cumulative target 240,000

Objective 2 Protecting and improving the environment2 EA 5 We reduce the risk from flooding to more households

Q2 2019/20 Owners: Executive Directors of FCRM and Operations

Status ActualAmber 96.9% Green

Deadline(s)01/09/2019

01/08/2019

Target Year end forecast Year end target98.0% 98.0%

% of high consequence assets at or above the required target condition The National position for KPI 962 Environment Agency high consequence has reduced to 96.9%. This reflects the inspection programme being more front end loaded whilst asset repairs tend to be delivered later in the year.Ten of the areas are currently more than 1% below the national target. Work to date suggests that the National target of 98% will be a challenge, the mitigating actions are currently being reviewed and actions implemented within areas with the aim of improving the position.Where assets are below the required condition this identifies that work is required, this does not mean that they have structurally failed or that performance in a flood is compromised. If the performance of an asset is reduced, we will take action to ensure that flood risk is effectively managed until the asset is fully repaired or replaced.

No. of high consequence assets passing

ActionsAction(s) Owner(s)Review of area plans and funding requirements to achieve the required improvements to asset conditionProvision of improved management reporting for below required condition assets.

Deputy Director, OperationsDeputy Director, Flood Risk & Coastal

97.7% 97.2% 96.9% 96.8% 97.9% 97.2% 96.9%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

2017/18 Q1 18/19 Q2 18/19 Q3 18/19 Q4 18/19 Q1 19/20 Q2 19/20

Objective 2 Protecting and improving the environment2 EA 6 We maintain our flood and coastal risk management assets at or above the target condition


31725

1,0210

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

At or above required target condition(EA)

Below required target condition(EA)

Target

Status Actual Target Year end forecastGreen 6,460 6,000 Green


31/12/2019

31/12/2019

31/12/2019

Year end target6,000

Continue to support a culture that gives the ability to balance our incident and day job roles by promoting personal resilience, and stop, slow,reset initiatives.

Deputy Director Incident Management & Resilience (SM)

We will ensure any impacts on incident staff resilience from EU Exit negotiations are managed effectively through Stop slow reset planning arrangements and continued support for our people. Whilst we may see an impact on training of new staff, we expect the overall numbers to be maintained as incident response is prioritised.

Deputy Director Incident Management & Resilience (SM)

Number of staff who are trained and ready to respond to incidents We estimate that there are 6,460 trained and capable incident staff ready to respond to incidents. This is 108% of the target 6,000.

There has been a small reduction on last quarter's figures, reflecting natural staff turnover and ongoing work by role leads to improve assessment of role capability and quality assurance of the information recorded.

We continue to maintain a strong pool of around 800 people in training who will contribute to our trained and ready workforce as they become capable and confident in their roles.

We also have an additional 200 staff from core Defra who support communications during incidents.

Actions

Deputy Director Incident Management & Deputy Director Incident Management & Resilience (SM)

We will continue to reflect the contribution of people who do not have an incident role but play a critical role in our incident response through their day job.Ensure all incident staff continue to manage their own professional capability through the Incident Management Academy. This will also enable us to accurately capture information for this measure.

Objective 2 Protecting and improving the environment

2 EA 7 We have a first class incident response capabilityNumber of staff who are trained and ready to respond to incidents


6,716 6,568 6,568 6,507 6,698 6,657 6,548 6,460

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

Q416/17

Q417/18

Q118/19

Q218/19

Q318/19

Q418/19

Q119/20

Q219/20

Targets

Title 0Theme 0Owner 0

Status Actual Target ForecastAmber 96.5% 97%

Action(s) Owner(s) Deadline(s)31/12/2019Areas that are failing to successfully influence 97% of planning decisions to investigate

the reasons for this and put in place measures to ensure that they reach a performance level of 97% by the end of quarter four.

% decision notices where Local Planning Authorities have accepted our representations

Year end target97%Green

Relevant Area Environment, Planning and Engagement Managers

Actions

Performance for quarter two is 95.5% against a target of 97% and therefore amber. There were 43 applications not determined in line with our advice, 10 of which were for ‘major’ development. The majority of objections made related to flood risk issues, with seven instances of local planning authorities (LPAs) not insisting on flood risk assessments to be undertaken when required, this is also against government planning policy. LPAs have also overruled our advice in relation to land contamination, pollution control and biodiversity matters.

Areas will be requested to investigate why LPAs are not making decisions in line with our advice and implement measures to address this. With appropriate plans in place this measure should be green by the end of the year.Decisions captured this quarter show how working with developers and LPAs has helped resolve significant environmental issues that could otherwise have led to planning applications for 9,481 new residential units being refused. These residential developments will help contribute around £160m to UK economic output.

Excellent delivery, on time and to budget and with outstanding value for money

2 EA 8 We successfully influence planning decisions by local planning authoritiesQ2 2019-20 Owners: Executive Directors of Environment and Business and Operations

97.4%

96.7%

97.2%97.5%

96.5%

90%

91%

92%

93%

94%

95%

96%

97%

98%

2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Q1 19/20 Q2 19/20

Target

Status Actual (£m) Budget (£m) Year end forecastAmber £ 574 m £ 618 m Green


31/10/2019Conduct a mid year financial review to be presented to EA Directors in October. Director of Finance

Year end target100%

Cumulative expenditure against YTD budget (%) We invested 43% of full year budget in the first half of 2019/20. This is a little below the proportion invested to the same point last year (45%), although the amount invested this year is higher than in 2018/19 (£574m vs £558m). EDT in October reviewed the mid-year position including full year forecast spend versus funding, and agreed a number of actions to ensure best use of our available funding for the environment.

Cumulative expenditure against YTD budget (£m)

Actions

97% 99% 99% 100% 95% 93%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Q1 18/19 Q2 18/19 Q3 18/19 Q4 18/19 Q1 19/20 Q2 19/20

Budget

Objective 4 Outstanding organisation

4 EA 9 We manage our money effectively to deliver our outcomes

Q2 2019/20 Owner: Executive Director of Finance£2

72 £5

66 £8

65 £1

,227

£286

£618

£264

£558

£857

£1,2

27

£273

£574

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Q1 18/19 Q2 18/19 Q3 18/19 Q4 18/19 Q1 19/20 Q2 19/20

£ m

illio

n

Planned profiled cumulative expenditure (£m)Actual cumulative expenditure (£m)

Status ActualGreen 14,019 15,438 30,876 Green

Status Actual TargetTotal Green 14,019 15,438Operational fuel Green 1,601 1,930Travel Green 4,420 4,477Buildings (inc Labs) Green 2,413 2,856Pumping Green 5,585 6,175

Due date

Quarter 2 YTD carbon dioxide emissions (tonnes)Ceiling target Year end target Year end forecast

Quarter 2 YTD carbon dioxide emissions by type (tonnes) Our Carbon Dioxide emissions are 9% under the mid-year target and the emissions remain similar to the same period last year.Due to dry prolonged dry weather conditions during quarter one and quarter two last year, our operational pumping emissions were high. This year our emissions increased in quarter one due to operation of Ely-Ouse Transfer Scheme following maintenance work but balanced out by significant reduction in operation during quarter two.Facilities Management (FM), although well within their mid-year target, have seen a slight increase (10%, 178 tonnes) in buildings emissions compared to last year. National Laboratory Service (NLS) are well within their mid-year target. Electricity use and associated emissions has fallen considerably with the closure of the Nottingham site. Defra reduced the conversion factor again in June, reflecting the change in UK grid mix of renewables, which accounted for some of the drop in our emissions.Carbon emissions from our travel remain similar to the same period last year, although there's a slight increase of 3%,109 tonnes on last year. We continue to work closely with our Fleet Operations team in greening our Fleet to help meet this target. We continue to see an increase in the use of number of hybrids (increased to 31% compared to 16% at the end of quarter two last year). The number of electric vehicles have also significantly increased which now makes up 1% of our total fleet.The emissions from our mobile fuel is slightly higher due to purchase of extra fuel in some areas to ensure all our tanks /bowsers remain full in preparation for EU Exit. However the emissions from the monitoring's Boats is down due to one of the boats the Solent guardian being out of use for three months due to repairs.

Tonnes of carbon dioxide produced

Actions Owner(s)Managers to continue their focus on Travel and Subsistence and the application ofthe travel hierarchy to support continued reduction in travel emissions.

Executive Directors, Directors andDeputy Directors

Ongoing

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

2006

/07

(bas

elin

e)20

07/0

820

08/0

920

09/1

020

10/1

120

11/1

220

12/1

320

13/1

420

14/1

520

15/1

620

16/1

720

17/1

820

18/1

9Q

1 19

/20

Q2

19/2

0Q

3 19

/20

Q4

19/2

0

Tonn

es

Actual YTD Target

Objective 4: Outstanding organisation

4 EA 10 We reduce our carbon footprintQ2 2019/20 Owner: Executive Director of Operations

2020 Target30,876

Annual DataQuarterly

Data 19-20

Status Actual Target

Red 4.3% 14% Red

Status Actual Target

Red 41% 50% Red

Action(s) Owner(s) Deadline(s)Ongoing OngoingOngoingOngoing

Development programmes and coaching for BAME staffDevelopment programmes and coaching for female staffActive support for Brunel and associated engagement initiatives

BAME staff as % of all staff There were 15 new BAME recruits this quarter out of a total of 264 new starters, which represents 5.7% of all external recruits, close to the mean value of 6.2% for the whole period beginning quarter one 2016/17. There was a small net increase in headcount from 455 in quarter one 2019/20 to 459, and the proportion of BAME employees in the Environment Agency remained at 4.3%; the 2016/20 target remains however at 14%. The Environment Agency has a suite of initiatives underway to move us towards our aspirations. These include promoting more community / university focused outreach work, unconscious bias training for recruiting managers, development programmes and mentoring for BAME staff, reviews of exit interviews, an EDT ‘Race Action Plan’, a refreshed resourcing strategy with all vacancies now placed on the VERCIDA online portal, blind sifting of CVs in recruitment, the "increase the pace on race" events, a more engaged BAME network and more active communication on our ethnic diversity.

The percentage of female Executive Managers (EMs) is 41.1% (37), which is almost unchanged from the previous quarter one 2019/20 (41.1%), the headcount only having risen by one to 37 out of a total EM headcount of 90. This compares to a target of 50%. The equivalent figure for the UK Civil Service is 45.0%, which has increased from 38.7% in 2016. The percentage of female Grade 7 employees has fallen slightly to 32% (153), resulting from the very slight decrease in headcount in the context of a rise in the overall Grade 7 headcount from 471 to 473; the percentage has changed little over the last six quarters. This compares to a target of 50% and an equivalent Civil Service Grade 6 figure of 45%.

Proportion of Executive Managers (EMs) who are female

Actions

Unconscious bias training for interviews Exec. Director FCRM

a) The proportion of our staff who are from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background (BAME %)

Year end forecastYear end target14%

b) The proportion of our executive managers who are female %

Year end forecast Year end target50%

36% 34% 37% 38% 37% 35% 34% 34% 34% 34% 35% 41% 41%

4337

43 45 42 31 31 30 30 29 2936 37

50%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Q216/17

Q316/17

Q416/17

Q117/18

Q217/18

Q317/18

Q417/18

Q118/19

Q218/19

Q318/19

Q418/19

Q119/20

Q219/20

2020 target = 50%

Objective 4 Outstanding organisation4 EA 11 We have a diverse workforceQ2 2019/20 Owner: Chief Executive

Target

Actual number of Female EMs is shown above each column

3.7% 3.7% 3.8% 4.0% 4.0% 3.8% 3.8% 3.9% 4.0% 4.0% 4.1% 4.3% 4.3%

383 381 411 425 433 381 385 395 407 412 431 455 459

14%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%

Q216/17

Q316/17

Q416/17

Q117/18

Q217/18

Q317/18

Q417/18

Q118/19

Q218/19

Q318/19

Q418/19

Q119/20

Q219/20

Target

Actual number of BAME staff is shown above each column

2020 target = 14%

Status Ceiling rate ForecastGreen 0.11 0.11 Green


Quarter four 2019/20

Implement the Health, Safety and Wellbeing plan for 2019/20Executive Director of Operations

Actions

Year end target0.11

Lost time incident frequency rate Lost Time Incident Frequency Rate (LTIFR) is a universally accepted lagging indicator of health and safety performance. We define lost time incidents as work related injuries resulting in a day or more lost time. By using such a conservative definition, plus a very low ceiling of 0.11 injuries per 100,000 hours worked, this creates a very challenging aspiration for our overall Health Safety and Wellbeing (HSW) performance. The fact that we are usually close to this ceiling indicates that all the steps we have been undertaking to manage and further improve our HSW are delivering results in terms of reduced numbers of injuries to our people. In quarter two our rate remained the same as quarter one, which continues to represent a significant improvement on the previous year.These HSW improvements most recently include improvements in Field Operations teams specifically by refining the training, planning and managing of construction work. We have also reviewed incident response; induction training; and emphasis on near miss reporting and active monitoring, amongst many other things. We also continue to improve our processes for learning from LTIs and Safety Critical Incidents (SCIs), including a recently extending the range of incidents that our trained reviewers investigate.

No. of LTIs

Actual

0.180.17

0.16 0.16

0.13 0.130.14

0.13 0.130.12

0.130.11 0.11

0.100.11

0.000.020.040.060.080.100.120.140.160.180.20

12 month rolling average Ceiling<=0.11

4

65

4

76

13

67

5

6 65 5

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Actual Average Upper control limit

Objective 4 Outstanding organisation4 EA 12 We have the lowest possible lost time incident (LTI) frequency rateQ2 2019/20 Owner: Executive Director of Operations

of 1

Board Meeting


Sponsor: Peter Kellett, Director of Legal Services

Title: General Drainage Charges

1.1 The setting of General Drainage Charges under the Water Resources Act

1991 requires a resolution of the Board to authorising the Agency seal to be affixed to the charge.

1.2 Schedule 15 of the Water Resources Act 1991 states:

Raising of drainage charge

1(1)A drainage charge—

(a)shall be raised by the Agency in writing under the common seal of the Agency; and

(b)shall be deemed to be raised on the date on which a resolution is passed by the Agency authorising

their seal to be affixed to the charge.

(2)Every drainage charge shall be raised for a year ending on 31st March and shall be raised before or

during the year for which it is raised.

1.3 The General Drainage Charges for the three Anglian committee areas for

19/20 are set by statute and are as follows: General Drainage Charge

Pence Per Hectare Anglian (Eastern) 373.78 Anglian (Central) 209.47 Anglian (Northern) 278.98

1.4 The Board is requested to authorise the affixing of the seal to charge for the

current year ending March 31 2020 and that resolution to be duly minuted.

Nick Hayden Senior Managing Lawyer 5 December 2019

board meeting - gov.uk...board meeting thursday 12 december 2019 pre-meeting briefing 08:30 10 mins...

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