Consultation outcome

Consultation response: Environment Agency charges proposal for cost of service

Updated 1 August 2025

This is the Environment Agency바카라 사이트™s cost-of-service consultation response. It includes a summary of feedback received and confirms the outcome of the consultation.

Introduction

The cost-of-service consultation proposed an increase to a range of charges within:

• The Environment Agency (Environmental Permitting and Abstraction Licensing) (England) Charging Scheme 2022
• The Waste (Miscellaneous) (England) Charging Scheme 2018

We asked if consultees agreed with our proposal to increase these charges to cover the change in our cost of service. The responses we received were mostly negative.

We reviewed all comments submitted within consultation feedback before considering whether it may be appropriate to make changes to our original proposals. These are the main themes we identified in the feedback:

• how charge affects customers
• service we provide
• charge scheme design
• design of the consultation
• support or partially support proposals

The consultation feedback helped us understand respondents바카라 사이트™ concerns and any issues relating to our proposals. It was also valuable to hear from those respondents who supported our proposals.

Outcome

We have considered all consultation feedback and assessed whether we need to make changes to our proposals.

In view of your feedback, we would like to confirm the following changes:

• charges for medium combustion plant installations will be as outlined in the waste crime consultation which closed on 20 January 2025, and will not be subject to the cost of service uplift
• charges for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and waste batteries and accumulators will increase by 7.5% for the 2026 compliance period
• permit application references 1.3.20 and 1.3.21 for landspreading of used sheep dip are exempt from the cost of service increase

After careful consideration, for all other proposals, we will progress as outlined in the consultation document.

The charge proposals were designed to accommodate recent increases in the cost of our service. To continue to operate and regulate businesses effectively, it is essential that we can fully recover the cost of our service. Along with most employers, the overall costs of employing our staff have increased.

The cost-of-service charge increase will allow us to maintain the service we provide to customers, despite increased operating costs. We will also invest in digital transformation to deliver better and more effective regulation.

The increase to charges will be implemented on 1 August 2025.

How we ran the consultation

The consultation ran for 6 weeks from 16 April 2025 to 28 May 2025. It was hosted on GOV.UK and our consultations website (Citizen Space). It was open to anybody to take part. Those who preferred to respond by email or post were able to request a copy of the consultation document and response form instead of responding online.  

We ran the consultation in line with our legal requirements to consult following the Cabinet Office바카라 사이트™s consultation principles guidelines. We notified ministers of our intention to consult.  

It was important for us to give our customers the opportunity to understand the proposals and the impact they will have. We encouraged our customers to give us their views through the consultation and publicised it openly. 

On this occasion, our communications with customers took place during the start of the charge consultation period. Our staff contacted relevant organisations to inform them about the consultation, and we released various press statements in April 2025.

Overview of consultation responses

In total, we received 244 responses to this consultation. This included 230 responses adhering to the question format set out in our consultation:

• 208 sent through our online consultation tool (Citizen Space)
• 22 submitted on our consultation response form

We also received 14 responses by email or letter. These did not align with our consultation question format and are not included in the numerical summaries of consultation question responses.  However, we have considered the themes identified in these responses alongside the responses made online and in the response forms.

The 230 responses adhering to our consultation question format were submitted by:

• 152 organisations or businesses
• 66 individuals

• 7 others

• 5 did not answer

Consultees described their main area of activity as:

• waste
• farming
• water or sewage
• energy production
• chemicals
• radioactivity
• other

In annex 1 you can find detailed information about the responses to all consultation questions and a summary of the themes we identified in all the consultation feedback.

Annex 2 and annex 3 give a list of organisations and groups that participated in the consultation. These represent a broad range of private and public sector organisations that we regulate.

We would like to thank all those who participated in the consultation and took time to provide this valuable feedback.

Consultation feedback and our response

This section includes a summary of feedback relating to the main themes we identified in consultation responses. We include our response under each of the main themes.

How charge affects customers 바카라 사이트“ feedback

Many responses related to the financial impact that increased charges would have on our customers. Respondents commented that the proposed charge increases were in addition to other increased costs and some felt there would be a greater burden on smaller businesses. Some typical responses were:

It바카라 사이트™s more cost to be added to business that have been hit with many cost increases so far already this year.

While we understand the need for increased EA fees, we are concerned that these rising costs are making it harder for small businesses to survive

At a time when it is a struggle for the majority of companies in the recycling and waste industry, and when the Environment Agency and or Defra is planning a variety of charges, these increases may be unaffordable.

An increase of 11.5%, whilst it is the first in 7 years, is substantial, and at a time when the farming environment is most uncertain with regard to global trade and the introduction of new legislation and the cost impacts associated with both.

How charge affects customers 바카라 사이트“ our response

We understand any increase in our charges puts additional financial pressures on our customers. However, to regulate our schemes, we need to have the right level of income to fund the work we carry out to make sure operators are compliant. We know these increases may be challenging for some small businesses. But as a public body, it is essential we recover the full cost of the services we provide, including investment in digital transformation that will help improve our services now and in the future.

Over recent years we have seen fluctuating inflation rates, and several respondents noted that despite this, we had not increased our charges. In the case of our environmental permitting charges, most of our charge schemes were last reviewed in 2018 (excluding water quality permits reviewed in 2024). As an organisation we have sought to absorb the cost changes in delivering our services through savings and efficiencies. However, our ability to continue to absorb increased costs has become limited due to the scale of the cost changes, leaving no option but to increase charges. The cumulative impact of inflation since 2018 is approximately 26%, based on average annual consumer price index (CPI) rates provided by the Office of National Statistics 바카라 사이트“ higher than the rates of increase proposed in our consultation. We also received some responses in favour of our proposal to increase charges by CPI inflation in future years. These responses noted the benefits of having smaller, more predictable annual charge increases.

Charge scheme design 바카라 사이트“ feedback

We received a lot of responses relating to the design of our charge scheme and the size of the increases. Some respondents commented that the increases were higher than inflation. Others queried the justification for these increases. Some typical responses were:

Inflation is running at 2.5%, I바카라 사이트™m not sure how you can justify 9.5% or more increase(s).

The increase in charges for waste activities are excessive and the percentage increase for these activities is higher than for other industries that are regulated such as water and nuclear.

The initial percentage increased are significantly higher than CPI would be in future years, with no justification as to the calculation behind the need for these rises.

Any revised charging proposals should be developed in conjunction with Ofwat so that we can seek agreement for the cost increase pass-through to our customers.

Charge scheme design 바카라 사이트“ our response

Cost-of-service increases

As outlined in the consultation document, the costs of providing our services have increased.

In the November 2024 budget, the government announced employer National Insurance would rise by 1.2%. Salaries make up a large proportion of our costs, so this has impacted on our charging schemes. Both Defra and the Environment Agency are included within the civil service pay award, details of which are available online in civil service pay remit guidance 2024 to 2025.

We are part of the Defra group. Defra provide several of our streamlined corporate services and we pay for these. Defra바카라 사이트™s costs have also increased due to the civil service pay remit 2024 to 2025 and national insurance costs. As a result, the amount we pay to Defra for these corporate costs has also increased by 1.3%.

We recognise that several charge consultations over the past few years indicated that charges would increase by CPI in future years. This remains the case, however, due to these unforeseen costs, we need to adjust the charges as outlined in this consultation to accommodate our recent increase in expenditure.

IT cost increases

Some of the charges within this consultation include costs associated with the introduction of new IT systems for the regulatory services programme (RSP) and the environmental monitoring and planning programme (EMP). These are designed to improve the service we offer to our customers within the regulatory areas and make our regulation more efficient in the long-term.

RSP provides better digital capability for customers and modernised regulation through better data quality and intelligence-led interventions. RSP will put the whole regulatory system online, covering over 50 different regimes. It will facilitate an essential transformation of how we regulate, moving from an intensive manual-based service, to one that uses automation and artificial intelligence. This will enable us to reduce cost and improve the capability across all our regulatory services, including permitting.

The EMP programme is developing an integrated system to collect, analyse and share environmental data on the water environment. EMP will underpin delivery of new water regulatory and enforcement duties. EMP will consolidate all our water and environmental data that currently sits across 16 systems. This will remove repetitive manual processes that take up time. It will allow a more efficient regulatory process and more effective use of our data. It will also automate remote monitoring, saving time and resources.

Timing of future charge consultations

We appreciate some of our customers would like us to align our charge consultation timeframes with their own business planning cycles. Due to the very high number of customers and sectors we regulate, it is not possible for us to time charge reviews perfectly for every customer. We recognise charge increases impact on the finances of our customers and that the timing of this change has come at a time when many customers would normally already be expecting their annual bills. However, we need to make sure we have the right funding at the right time to continue to regulate effectively.

We charge for the regulatory work we do. Each charge is costed against the work carried out by the teams who manage these services, alongside the overarching business functions. This makes sure our customers only pay for the service they receive for the different regulatory services we provide. We constantly strive to make efficiencies in our processes as this benefits both the customer and our teams.

Service we provide 바카라 사이트“ feedback

Several respondents took the opportunity within this charge consultation to provide feedback regarding the service they receive from our regulatory and permitting teams. These are some examples of the feedback we received:

There is no visible benefit or service for this annual charge. Initially we had regular water tests and communication 바카라 사이트“ now there is nothing.

We are concerned that although charges increase, the level of service does not. The service provided by the EA must be adequate and provide licences and permits within an adequate timescale.

Since 2024 our costs for EA notifications already increased significantly due to the changes in the charging scheme. The service of EA since then has not improved.

Service we provide 바카라 사이트“ our response

We appreciate your feedback regarding the service you are currently receiving from the Environment Agency바카라 사이트™s teams. Where particular issues relate to specific teams, this feedback will be sent to the managers of these teams, so they are aware of our customers바카라 사이트™ views and experiences.

We are always striving to deliver the best services possible and provide value for money in everything we do. This cost-of-service increase to our charges will make sure we continue to provide an effective regulatory service to our customers and improve our efficiency through our digital transformation programmes, RSP and EMP.

Design of the consultation 바카라 사이트“ feedback

Many respondents commented on the timing of the consultation and the implementation of the increase from April 2025. There were also many comments regarding the timing of our communications about this consultation. Some examples of these responses include:

Short notification of cost increases. Only being made aware by an industry body rather than direct communications.

We don바카라 사이트™t disagree fundamentally with the purpose of the increase, but with the timing. This could have been consulted on in 2024, so that businesses could plan 2025 budgets accordingly.

We are disappointed that there was no advance notice of the proposed significant increases which have not therefore been budgeted for. Although we support the principle of cost recovery for permitting, increases must be notified in advance to allow for financial planning.

Support the principle of cost recovery for EA compliance and a charging scheme being in line with inflation costs from 2026. Consultation timing and implementation of July 2025 does not allow enough time for operator financial planning!

Design of the consultation 바카라 사이트“ our response

We recognise the timing of these charge increases covering both the notification period and implementation dates were unexpected. We had to respond to a changing financial landscape at short notice. In particular:

• the civil service pay remit was not released until mid-2024
• National Insurance increase was not announced until 30 October 2024
• the spending review settlement figures were confirmed in early 2025

The Spending Review Settlement determines the level of government funding the EA will receive over a multi-year period. Certainty was needed across these three changing financial areas to allow the organisation to calculate the income needed to sustain our current service and demonstrate the impact of charge increases.

The proposed changes were reviewed, and we published the consultation as soon as possible after we obtained internal and ministerial approvals.

We always aim to contact our customers before we consult, and again when we publish a consultation. We acknowledge that the quick turnaround time meant we were unable to do so on this occasion. We emailed or sent letters to all affected customers during the first 3 weeks of the consultation; it was necessary to stagger the process due to the large numbers involved.  

Supports and partially supports proposals 바카라 사이트“ feedback

Some respondents either fully or partially agreed with our proposal. These included customers across a range of industries. Here are some examples of the feedback we received:

Amount paid has not increased for years so we understand the need to raise it. Percentages seems fair.

Costs need to be covered and if this requires an increase to the charges, that is what any business would do. There is a massive claim on public funds already and if these costs can be recouped then public funds can be used elsewhere to improve the lives of the UK population.

The functions of the EA should be self-funding. However, the increase in charges must lead to an increase in service delivery in line with statutory timescales.

Costs have gone up for everyone and this will include the EA, therefore I can understand the need to increase costs. I would be happier if I can see an improvement in the service provision and a general improvement in compliance.

Supports and partially supports proposals 바카라 사이트“ our response

We appreciate the positive feedback provided by respondents. Where customers have also provided feedback regarding specific services, we will forward these on to the relevant teams.

Next steps

We have now published our updated charging scheme, and the revised charges will apply from 1 August 2025. You can view the following on GOV.UK:

• The Environment Agency (Environmental Permitting and Abstraction Licensing) (England) Charging Scheme 2022
• The Waste (Miscellaneous) (England) Charging Scheme 2018
• how we calculate our charges

Annex 1: Detailed summary of consultation responses

This annex sets out the responses we received to our consultation on proposed charge increases to cover the cost of our service.

The consultation included questions on:

• our charge proposal
• additional questions

We received 230 responses through the online tool and consultation response form. We also received 14 emails or letters with comments relating to the consultation.

Questions 바카라 사이트˜about you바카라 사이트™ and your consultation feedback바카라 사이트¯

Within the online tool and response form, we included an 바카라 사이트˜about you바카라 사이트™ section to provide us with an understanding of who responded, and to help us better analyse the consultation feedback.

We asked if consultees were giving a personal response as an individual or providing their response on behalf of an organisation. The 230 responses (208 online and 22 using our consultation response form) stated:

• responding as an individual 바카라 사이트“ 66
• responding on behalf of an organisation, group or trade association 바카라 사이트“ 152
• other 바카라 사이트“ 7
• no answer given 바카라 사이트“ 5

For those responding on behalf of an organisation we also asked how many people work there: 

• sole trader 바카라 사이트“ 9
• 0 to 10 바카라 사이트“ 51
• 11 to 50 바카라 사이트“ 34
• 51 to 100 바카라 사이트“ 17
• 101 to 1,000 바카라 사이트“ 27
• more than 1,000 바카라 사이트“ 27
• no answer given 바카라 사이트“ 65

Consultees indicated their main area of business was: 

• chemicals 바카라 사이트“ 3
• energy production 바카라 사이트“ 4
• farming 바카라 사이트“ 46
• radioactivity 바카라 사이트“ 2
• water or sewage 바카라 사이트“ 14
• waste 바카라 사이트“ 49
• other 바카라 사이트“ 94
• no answer given 바카라 사이트“ 18

The main area of business for those who selected 바카라 사이트˜other바카라 사이트™ is given in annex 3.

Charging schemes relevant to respondents were:

• the EPR charging scheme 바카라 사이트“ 69
• the waste miscellaneous charging scheme 바카라 사이트“ 45
• both charging schemes 바카라 사이트“ 50
• neither charging schemes apply 바카라 사이트“ 6
• do not know 바카라 사이트“ 49
• no answer given 바카라 사이트“ 11

Consultation questions

Questions are set out in the same format as they were presented in the online consultation tool and response form. A multiple-choice question gave respondents the option to select one response. This was followed by a free text box for comments.

We report all the multiple-choice option responses, followed by a list of themes identified most frequently in the free text comments.

Question 1: Do you agree or disagree with the proposed increase in our charges to cover the cost of the change in our cost-of-service as given in tables 5 to 8?

This question received more negative responses (152) than positive responses (29):

• strongly agree 바카라 사이트“ 3
• agree 바카라 사이트“ 26
• neither agree nor disagree 바카라 사이트“ 30
• disagree 바카라 사이트“ 50
• strongly disagree 바카라 사이트“ 102
• do not know 바카라 사이트“ 10
• not applicable 바카라 사이트“ 2
• did not answer 바카라 사이트“ 7

Comments relating to this question were submitted by 184 respondents to the consultation (80%). Within the comments, the following themes were identified at least 18 times:

• 바카라 사이트˜charge scheme design바카라 사이트™바카라 사이트“ 83
• 바카라 사이트˜how charge affects customers바카라 사이트™ 바카라 사이트“ 72
• 바카라 사이트˜service we provide바카라 사이트™ 바카라 사이트“ 44
• 바카라 사이트˜alternative suggestions바카라 사이트™ 바카라 사이트“ 38
• 바카라 사이트˜design of the consultation바카라 사이트™ 바카라 사이트“ 23
• 바카라 사이트˜supports or partially supports proposal바카라 사이트™ 바카라 사이트“ 18

The following themes were identified less often:

• 바카라 사이트˜how we manage charges바카라 사이트™
• 바카라 사이트˜protect environment바카라 사이트™

Four comments were not charge related, and 45 respondents left no comment. Any issues relating to specific teams or departments have been flagged to the relevant managers.

Letter and email responses

We analysed the comments in 14 responses submitted by letter or email. (There was a fifteenth email that duplicated information submitted on a response form by the same respondent.) These responses did not align with our consultation question format. The following themes were identified at least 5 times:

• 바카라 사이트˜how charge affects customers바카라 사이트™ 바카라 사이트“ 6
• 바카라 사이트˜charge scheme design바카라 사이트™ 바카라 사이트“ 5
• 바카라 사이트˜design of the consultation바카라 사이트™ 바카라 사이트“ 5

The following themes were identified less often:

• 바카라 사이트˜alternative suggestions바카라 사이트™
• 바카라 사이트˜service we provide바카라 사이트™
• 바카라 사이트˜how we manage charges바카라 사이트™

Three of the comments were not charge related. Any issues relating to specific teams or departments have been flagged to the relevant managers.

Annex 2: List of consultation participants

The following organisation or business names were provided by respondents who gave permission for their responses to be published. Note that names are excluded if the organisation or business did not give permission for us to publish their response.

List of organisations or businesses that gave a name

• Aalberts Surface Technologies Ltd
• Addwell Systems Ltd
• Advanced Roofing Ltd
• Affinity Water
• Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association.
• Anglian Water
• Arden wood shavings, Veolia
• Aston Manor Ltd
• ATEQ UK Ltd
• Avara Foods
• Bakkavor Desserts
• Barclay Roofing Ltd
• Belton Park Golf Club
• Bimeda UK
• Blands Farm Close Management Company Ltd
• Blueprint for Water, part of Wildlife and Countryside Link
• Brow Farm Ltd
• BSD UK
• C&S Building services
• CAMP XL
• Canal & River Trust
• China Fleet Country Club
• Chowdhury Metals Exporter (UK) Limited
• Corve Farming Ltd
• Countrystyle Recycling
• CT Glass
• D. G. Controls Ltd
• Delfland Nurseries Ltd
• Elite plumbers ltd
• Elveden Farms Ltd.
• Envar Composting Limited
• Envireau Water
• Environmental Services Association
• Eternis Fine Chemicals
• Exmoor Fisheries Ltd
• Expleo UK Limited
• Express Appliances Ltd
• FABRA UK
• Farming businesss
• FGS Agri Ltd
• FGS Organics Ltd
• FJ Church & Sons Ltd
• GH Property Management Services Limited
• Heckfield Park Farm Limited
• Home Cars Ltd
• Huntapac Produce Ltd
• Iracroft Ltd
• J & V Casey and Son Ltd
• Lake DIstrict National Park Authority
• Lambswick Farm Barns Ltd
• Land and Mineral Consulting Ltd
• Leicestershire County Council
• Long Rake Spar Co
• Lord Wemyss Trust
• Medisort Limited
• Midland Rock
• Mineral Products Association
• on behalf of River Lynher Association. Bicton Mill St Ive Cornwall
• N+P Group
• National Farmers바카라 사이트™ Union
• National Pig Association (NPA)
• Nigel Jeffries Landscapes Ltd
• Nisbets limited
• NMB-Minebea UK Ltd
• Northumbrian Water
• Packaged Feeds Limited
• PB TYRES (UK) LLP
• Peterborough Limited
• Poeton Industries
• Pumping Station Ltd
• Quattro UK Ltd
• R and J Farrow Ltd
• R.C.H. Morgan-Giles, Upton Park Farms
• RDF Industry Group
• Re-Gen Group
• REPIC Ltd
• Restormel estate
• Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
• Royal Marsden NHSFT
• RWAP Software
• SARIA Ltd, including ReFood Ltd, Sarval Ltd, SecAnim Ltd & Sarval (Hartshill) Ltd
• Severn Trent Water Limited
• Sharpsmart Ltd UK
• Skinners Transport
• Slicker Recycling Limited
• SLR Consulting Limited
• Smart Component Technologies Ltd
• Sonae (UK) Limited
• South East Water
• South Staffs Water
• Southern Water
• Spline Gauges Limited
• SRCL Limited, Stericycle
• SSE
• Stane Park Ltd
• Star Energy Group plc
• Stoke on Trent City Council
• SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK
• Target Structural ltd
• Thames Water
• The Healthcare Waste Management Association (HWMA)
• The Old Forge (Rodmarton) Ltd
• The Recycling Association
• Thomas Fawcett & Sons Ltd
• Top class building services limited
• Totus Environmental Ltd
• Trinity Metals Ltd
• UK Remediation ltd
• UK Steel
• Unipart
• University of Sheffield
• URM (UK) Ltd
• VauxBM Ltd
• Vellco Tyre Control
• Venture Construction Services Ltd
• Water Transfer Ltd
• Wessex Water
• Whites Recycling Ltd
• Whitworth church, Spennymoor
• Yorkshire Water

List of 바카라 사이트˜other바카라 사이트™ respondents

The following respondents said they were responding on behalf of 바카라 사이트˜other바카라 사이트™ (rather than 바카라 사이트˜organisation or businesses or 바카라 사이트˜individual바카라 사이트™):

• Bulbridge Farm Management Company ltd
• Chelford House (Offerton) Management co Ltd
• family farm
• farming business
• consultant advising a number of SMEs in the waste industry and agricultural sectors
• consultant to a wide range of SME operators in the waste industry and agricultural sector

Annex 3: Responses listing main area of business as 바카라 사이트˜other바카라 사이트™

The following main area of business descriptions were provided by respondents who gave permission for their responses to be published. Note comments are excluded if the organisation or business did not give permission for us to publish their response.

• a management group for a block of flats
• aggregate supplier
• aggregate, cement, asphalt, lime and other mineral product production.
• animal by-products
• Blueprint for Water is a coalition of organisations working to restore the ecology of the UK바카라 사이트™s rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands by seeking improvements to water policy at an England level. It is the freshwater policy working group of Wildlife and Countryside Link, the largest environment and wildlife coalition in England
• beverage manufacture
• block and estate management
• building services
• canal and river operation and maintenance
• church
• commercial roofing
• construction
• construction and renovation
• construction and utilities activities
• construction industry
• construction related trades
• electrical and electronic equipment
• electronics manufacture
• engineering
• engineering consultancy
• fire and security installations
• food manufacturer
• general industry
• glass recycling
• golf club
• haulage
• haulage and waste management
• health
• healthcare
• horticulture
• hospitality
• hotel, golf and country club
• householder
• industry representative body for the AD sector
• logistics, manufacturing and transport
• maltsters
• managing the lake district national park 바카라 사이트“ development, access, transport, recreation, environment.
• manufacture of aerospace bearings
• manufacturing
• manufacturing and engineering
• mineral consultancy
• office equipment retailer and repairer
• office space provider 바카라 사이트“ commercial landlord
• offices
• plumber
• plumbing and heating
• private 16 unit development, consists of 2 or 3 or 4 bed conversions
• private tenant. unemployed due to disability
• production horticulture
• property management, we are managing the maintenance for our close
• refrigeration and air conditioning installation and maintenance
• remote condition monitoring sensors
• retail
• scrap metal recycling
• scrap metal yard
• selling replacement parts to extend the working life of equipment
• surface treatment of metals
• surface treatments
• sustainability and environmental consultancy
• this is a community of houses sharing a communal wastewater system 바카라 사이트“ not a typical business
• voluntary, self-funded salmon hatchery attempting to restore salmon stocks on the River Lynher
• WEEE recycling and reuse