The National Audit Office is warning that 200,000 properties are at increased flood risk due toEnvironment Agency defence assets being below required condition - and the EA has cut its forecast for the number of additional properties that will be better protected from flooding by 40% since plans were first unveiled in 2020.

The National Audit Office (NAO) is warning of serious weaknesses which are currently limiting the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs’ ability to make evidence-based decisions about where to deploy its resources, and to understand wider impacts of its regulatory approach.

The National Audit Office is warning that there are serious weaknesses in central government’s approach to working with local authorities on decarbonisation, stemming from a lack of clarity over local authorities’ overall roles, piecemeal funding, and diffuse accountabilities.

The National Audit Office is warning that achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions in the UK is a colossal challenge and government will need to spearhead a concerted national effort if it is to reach its goal by 2050.

A new report by the National Audit Office (NAO) finds that while the government is on track to achieve its target for better protecting 300,000 more homes from flooding by March 2021, it does not have a comprehensive measure of its progress in reducing the overall level of flood risk across England.

A new report from the National Audit Office has highlighted repeated problems with the delivery of major Government programmes in four key areas: scope, planning, managing interdependencies and oversight.

The National Audit Office has raised wide-ranging concerns warning that without clear plans and goals, the Government risks failing to achieve its 25 year environmental targets set out in its 25 year plan.

Chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), Philip Dunne, has written to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) requesting an update on measures such as leakage targets and managing water consumption.

The four main regulators – Ofwat, Ofgem, Ofcom and the Financial Conduct Authority – cannot prove if they are effectively responding to consumer concerns or offering enough protection for those who need it, according to the National Audit Office.

The National Audit Office has launched a new inquiry to examine whether systems and incentives in the regulated industries sufficiently and cost-effectively protect vulnerable consumers.