Farms face rising pressure as environmental regulators 'stretched too thin'

Farmers are facing growing pressure from an overstretched environmental regulatory system that is struggling to keep pace with both reform and enforcement, MPs have warned.

A new report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) raises concerns that regulators lack the resources and coordination needed to manage sweeping changes, while still supporting farm businesses to comply with increasingly complex rules.

The Committee warns that current regulation is not working effectively — either for nature recovery or for the rural economy — leaving farmers navigating a system that is becoming harder to understand and engage with.

Illegal waste dumping is highlighted as a worsening issue, with the scale of unlawful sites now outstripping the Environment Agency’s (EA) ability to respond. The regulator is limited to lengthy criminal prosecutions, without access to faster civil enforcement powers.

Gaps in intelligence are also slowing action. While the EA moved quickly to tackle illegal dumping in Kidlington after receiving “confirmed intelligence”, local bodies had reportedly known about the issue for weeks.

MPs say stronger collaboration between the EA, police and local authorities is essential, warning that without it, waste crime risks continuing to affect rural communities.

Alongside enforcement challenges, regulators are attempting to implement 149 recommendations from multiple independent reviews. However, the PAC says this volume of change appears poorly coordinated and questions whether bodies such as Defra, the EA and Natural England have the capacity or skills to deliver it.

The Committee is calling for a clear plan from Defra, setting out how reforms will be managed and ensuring regulators are properly resourced.

For farmers, the lack of clarity is a key concern. The report finds that businesses are not receiving enough guidance or support to help them comply with environmental rules, raising the risk of confusion, administrative burden and potential penalties.

This comes at a time when the sector is already facing significant change, including updates to environmental land management schemes (ELMs), a forthcoming 25-year vision for agriculture, and the creation of a new water regulator.

MPs warn these developments could further complicate how farmers interact with regulators, unless government takes steps to streamline processes and provide clearer support.

One proposal under consideration is merging the roles of Natural England and the EA. The PAC suggests a single body could reduce duplication and create a more consistent approach, particularly where responsibilities overlap, such as planning and enforcement.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Chair of the PAC, said: “The UK has obvious and glaring problems with how environmental regulation is delivered.”

He added that farmers are already dealing with “the complexity of the systems within which they are obliged to work”, alongside wider environmental challenges such as waste crime and pollution.

“Our report finds that the current position [is] that regulators are not sufficiently resourced to follow this multiplicity of recommendations, while still carrying out their responsibilities towards the environment,” he said.

Clifton-Brown described a merger between Natural England and the EA as “one obvious solution” to simplify the system, while warning that enforcement alone will not solve illegal dumping.

“Without deeper co-operation with police and local authorities, illegal waste is still liable to be an out-of-control plague on our communities,” he said.

The report also flags concerns over the government’s Nature Restoration Fund, which aims to offset environmental damage from development. While potentially innovative, MPs warn it could introduce further complexity and barriers if not carefully managed.

Overall, the PAC concludes that environmental regulation currently lacks focus and direction, urging government to bring greater clarity — particularly for farmers and land managers who must operate within the system.