Publishing Defra's Annual Departmental Report 2008, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has reaffirmed Defra's commitment to helping people live within their environmental means and acknowledged the role of staff in some key achievements over the past year.
Hilary Benn said: "Over the past year we have made significant progress on climate change and protecting natural resources. We have seen improvement in the Rural Payments Agency on single farm payments, the tremendous efforts of the Department, Environment Agency and other services' staff during the summer floods and the professional response to disease outbreaks.
"Our two new Public Service Agreement targets show the recognition across government of the importance of tackling climate change and enhancing the natural environment.
"We are committed to tackling climate change, and the Bali Conference demonstrated that there is an international will to act. In the UK, we are bringing in the Climate Change Bill, and helping people to move to a low carbon lifestyle through information, advice and assistance. We are also supporting environmentally friendly farming with the Rural Development Programme, which will invest £3.9 billion over the coming years."
Hilary Benn also highlighted the draft Marine Bill and the development of a strategy for the protection and management of water as key achievements.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
ERG, the leading supplier of odour control systems and industrial gas cleaning & thermal systems, has been awarded the coveted King’s Award for Enterprise.
Welsh Water’s new artificial intelligence-driven tool, ORAI, has been shortlisted for three categories at the prestigious British Data Awards 2026 – underscoring the company’s commitment to using cutting-edge technology to deliver better outcome for customers.
Barhale has completed work on two separate Rapid Action Taskforce Spills projects it is carrying out for Severn Trent.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.