Championing local authorities to deliver for the environment
Policy delivery is the environmental challenge of the next decade. The UK now has a web of environmental policies and plans in place, at the centre of which are the Environment Act and the Environmental Improvement Plans, as well as their equivalents in the devolved nations. These policies connect across departments, public bodies, and local authorities.
Local authorities have a crucial role to play in shaping and delivering these policies, and effective outcomes cannot be achieved without them. They need the power and resources to play their part.
As part of our recommendations to the UK Government for 2024-2029, the IES published this chapter on 'championing local authorities to deliver for the environment', which sets out recommendations on local authorities and policy implementation.
Our recommendations for the UK Government
- Champion local authorities to deliver for the environment by clarifying their responsibilities and increasing their powers and resources.
- Accelerate the delivery of England’s Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP).
- Make monitoring, evaluation and response an essential part of the design and implementation of policy.
More on implementing policy
Find out more
Read our recommendations for other fields of environmental science in 'Our Shared Mission for Sustainable Wellbeing'.
For more information about governance and how to deliver policy in practice, read our report on reconnecting targets with environmental outcomes. To support effective policy implementation at the national and local level, join our Environmental Policy Implementation Community (EPIC).
If you want to support the work of the IES, you can become an affiliate, or if you’re a professional in the environmental sector working with science, consider joining the IES.
Header image credit: © Alistair Johnstone | Climate Visuals
