What's New

The Environment Agency, Leeds City Council and the White Rose Forest partnership are encouraging landowners in the River Aire catchment to participate in a scheme that is to provide funding for natural flood management (NFM) activities. This website note sets out some further detail of the programme.

In this note, we summarise the decision in this case regarding indemnity clauses and the implications for those advising clients or negotiating agreements for interim or permanent rights under the Electronic Communications Code.

This note - prompted by the recent wildfires in North America - explores some of the risk management issues for carbon markets and biodiversity offsetting.

DEFRA have made amendments to the online guidance for the Sustainable Farming Incentive Pilot. In particular, the advice on soil compaction and green cover has been updated. The full guidance is available here: Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot: summary of advice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)....

This note offers an update on three recently published energy policy documents and consultations: The Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan 2021Digitalising Our Energy System for Net Zero: Strategy and Action Plan 2021Energy Future System Operator Consultation...

An update on the results of the second round of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund.

The Welsh Government has published guidance on when entitlements can be transferred and how to notify the Welsh Government of a transfer of entitlements.

The Private Tenancies Bill provides a framework for future regulations in Northern Ireland in respect of health and safety standards of dwellings, as well as altering notice to quit periods and restricting rent increases.

This note provides a brief overview of recent Government policy for flood risk management.

The Government has announced that the Catchment Sensitive Farming Programme has been extended across the whole of England and the funding for the programme will now be almost doubled, with an additional £17m over the next three years. This means that every farmer able to access advice and support by March 2023 to help tackle pollution which results from manure, fertiliser and soil running off into rivers when it rains. See the GOV.uk website for more detail....

Proposals for biodiversity net gain was the subject of an extensive debate in the House of Lords, which the CAAV reported on in this webnote. During that debate, the Minister, Lord Goldsmith, promised to make further replies to a number of points raised by peers. This note provides an overview of the Minister's responses.

This note explores the treatment of scrub habitat within the Biodiversity Net Gain Metric 3.0, and offers further guidance and commentary on the practical implications of biodiversity net gain.

Tenancy Reform Industry Group (TRIG) Code of Good Practice for projects, schemes or works requiring landlord’s consent in agricultural tenancies.

The Tenancy Reform Industry Group (TRIG) has now published a new Code of Good Practice for projects, schemes or works where an agricultural tenant needs landlord's consent. This note offers an overview of the guidance. The Code can be seen on the RICS’s website....

Farming Connect has published a factsheet on the Control of Agricultural Pollution Regulations - Storage of Silage

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on proposed changes to Energy Standards and associated topics, including ventilation, overheating and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The consultation deadline is 15th October 2021.

This note contains a summary of the current home loss payments payable in the devolved parts of the UK, including an update for changes to apply in England from 1 October 2021.

This note reviews the detail of the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme - which is to provide funding to farmers and land managers in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Parks and the Broads - and provides some examples of projects that may be funded through the scheme.

This note offers an overview of the process of reverse auction, and explores the example of the UK Woodland Carbon Guarantee Scheme.

This note reviews a recent series of reverse auctions, in East Anglia, for the provision of habitat for turtle doves. The auction was part of an ELMs Test and Trial that was managed by the RSPB.

This note offers an overview of the VAT considerations for the purchase and sale of carbon credits.

This note summarises whether the obligations under The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 apply to the landlord for a tenancy over 7 years with a break clause before the end of the 7 years.

The Building Safety Bill has been put forward to Parliament. In this note, we review the broad changes proposed within the Bill, including the New Homes Ombudsman Scheme, creation of the Building Safety Regulator, changes to building control and the Defective Premises Act 1972.

Edwin Poots, Northern Ireland Environment Minister, has renewed the call for responses to the NI Peatland Strategy Consultation. For more information on the consultation - which was opened on 09 June 2021 and closes on 01 September 2021 - see out website note of 09 June 2021....

The Government has launched a consultation for local residents to express their views on the future development around the Oxford-Cambridge Arc. See the press release. The Creating a Vision for the Oxford-Cambridge Arc consultation aims to help the Government create a vision for the Oxford-Cambridge Arc Spatial Framework, and in doing so guide the future growth of the area to 2050....

Natural England has now published the Biodiversity Metric 3.0, the calculating tool to be used when establishing baselines and assessing proposals for Biodiversity Net Gain. With the Environment Bill now progressing through Parliament and expecting all development to result in a 10 per cent gain in biodiversity, it is expected that this v.3.0 of the Metric either is or represents closely what will be used as the new regime takes effect. With this tool expected to be important for other issues,...

The Government issued a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) for England. This note records the revised text on the extent to which plans may be tailored to local circumstances, including how far Article 4 directions and planning conditions may be used to qualify or remove permitted development rights, notably those for conversion of buildings to residential use.

The Welsh Government launched the £10 million Tenancy Hardship Grant in their written statement of 15th July. The Tenancy Hardship Grant is now open to applications. Tenants who are not in receipt of housing related benefits, and who have fallen behind on their payments by eight weeks or more as a consequence of the pandemic, between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2021, will be eligible to apply for a grant....

The RPA has published its Annual Report and Accounts 2020-2021 for the year ended 31st March 2021.

The Government issued a revised NPPF on 20th July 2021. This note records the substantially unchanged national level framework policies on rural housing.

This note sets out the detail of a written response by Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State at MHCLG, to the Commons and two recently published planning documents: a revised national Planning Policy Framework; the new National Model Design Code.

The Scottish Government announced that farming support payments exceeded target across all schemes in 2020. More than £530 million was paid out by 30 June 2021, with all schemes exceeding the regulatory target of 95.24% and outperforming 2019 levels. A total of 99.5% of Basic Payment Scheme, Greening and Young Farmer funds were paid by the end of June. The Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme, Upland Sheep Support Scheme and the Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme also delivered more than...

The Welsh Government has published a letter in response to the report on developing new policies for second homes.

Earlier this week, DEFRA announced that they had chosen 19 organisations to receive funding to provide support to farmers during the Agricultural Transition. The funding, which has been made available as part of the Future Farming Resilience Fund, will enable the chosen organisations to provide support and advice to farmers for free, so that they may: understand the changes that are happening as a result of the Agricultural Transition; identify how, what and when business models will need to...

This note sets out Henry Dimbleby's second more substantive part of his National Food Strategy report.

DEFRA, the Environment Agency and Natural England have announced that it has granted funding to 27 projects under its Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund.

The DEFRA minister, Lord Goldsmith, answered a wide ranging debate on the provisions under the Environment Bill for biodiversity net gain, clarifying or explaining a number of points. See our website note for more details.

Natural England has now published the latest version of its calculator approach to accounting for and auditing biodiversity: The Biodiversity Metric 3.0. The Metric offers a habitat based approach to assess an area’s value to wildlife. See the website note for more details.

DEFRA has today given some indications about the operation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) which are to be prepared under the Environment Bill. This note also contains an update on the LNRS pilots.

The Northern Ireland Rural Affairs Minister has launched a consultation on a proposed Rural Policy Framework for Northern Ireland. With the end of the EU-funded NI Rural Development Programme the Government in Northern Ireland is looking to take the opportunity to review rural policy and set the agenda for future schemes.

The Climate Change Bill has been introduced to the Northern Ireland Assembly, after receiving approval from the Executive in June. The Bill makes provision for the Northern Irish Executive to set out targets and measures for addressing climate change in Northern Ireland.

The Government has updated guidance for cattle keepers on the Bovine TB Testing Intervals 2021 in England, Wales and Scotland. Find the full guidance on the GOV.uk website.

The Government has published an A4 factsheet giving information for landlords on right to rent checks now the EU Settlement Scheme deadline (30 June 2021) has passed. See our website note of 14th June setting out the changes that came into force on 1st July 2021....