The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a consultation seeking views on reforms to modernise the environmental permitting framework for the industry and energy sectors.
The consultation which runs until 21 October 2025 sets out a number of regulatory reforms to support innovation in emerging technologies, streamline permitting and provide the regulatory certainty businesses are said to need ‘to succeed, grow and invest, while maintaining essential environmental and health protections’.
The consultation covers the permitting of ‘industrial’ activities under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (EPRs), which include installations, medium combustion plant and specified generators, small waste incineration plant, solvent emission activities, Part B mobile plant and mobile medium combustion plant. The consultation does not cover waste operations, mining waste operations, radioactive substances activities, water discharge activities, groundwater activities or flood risk activities.
The devolved governments are said to have been engaged during the preparation of the consultation.
Defra said:”We are seeking views from the businesses and sectors in scope of these reforms as well as wider organisations and individuals across civil society, local government and academia. Feedback will be used to shape detailed proposals which will be subject to further consultation.”
The proposed reforms are to support the government’s missions and priorities on growth, clean energy, health, the circular economy and environmental improvement. This includes foundational reforms around innovation and standard-setting, as well as a number of sector-specific updates.
Feedback will shape the policy development of these proposals, which will be subject to further consultation. The proposals are set out in five chapters:
- enabling innovation and encouraging new technologies and techniques
- agile standards – a rapid, predictable and integrated approach to standard setting
- proportionate regulation and coherence in the environmental permitting framework
- regulator effectiveness and efficiency
- creating a transparent environmental permitting framework