News

17 March 2025

Angling Trust warns of environmental harm over Chancellor’s cost-cutting regulation plan

Following Downing Street’s announcement that Chancellor Rachel Reeves has unveiled an action plan to deliver on the pledge to cut the administrative cost of regulation on business by a quarter, the Angling Trust has issued the following statement:

The Angling Trust agrees with the government when it says, “when used effectively, regulation can […] provide a mechanism to address economic, societal and environmental risks and deliver positive outcomes that we want to see in our communities.”

There is no doubt that current regulation is not doing enough to protect rivers, seas, and fish. What the government fails to grasp is why. The government too easily jumps to environment regulation as a burden, and an inconvenience getting in the way of wanting to build, build, build. The government also fails to acknowledge that many of the problems highlighted are a direct result of under-funding and the de-skilling of the regulators, often making their job inefficient and ineffective.

It is not regulation that is the problem, indeed the public want greater protection for the environment, for consumers, for workers. It is the constant political meddling that has created this mess. This new action plan risks being another example of unhelpful political meddling.

Neither does the “few bad actors” narrative apply when it comes to regulating businesses that pollute and suck our rivers dry. Every water company in England is currently under investigation for permit breaches and we know that farming rules are widely unenforced. In wishing to “regulate only where necessary and allow space for discretion and good behaviour” this government is making the same mistakes as previous governments. The same principle allowed water companies to self-report their pollution discharges and compliance with permits, leading directly to poor performance and illegal behaviour, and to water companies prioritising shareholder dividends and executive’s bonus over protecting the environment.

What we need is less discretion by regulators as to whether they apply the letter of the law, not more. Only then will fish be able to thrive in waters that are protected from the effects of industrial agriculture and unchecked damage caused by water companies.

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British record barbel provisionally accepted

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01 April 2025

Angling Trust urges West Berkshire Council to reject intensive…

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