EA criticised for going after farmers, not big polluters

MPs have accused the Environment Agency (EA) of unfairly targeting farmers and landowners with enforcement action, while failing to act on serious pollution by big industry and criminal gangs.

In a parliamentary debate on Wednesday 4 June, former Defra secretary Steve Barclay accused the EA of “remarkable unaccountability” despite a 21% increase in staff numbers and 9% budget increase to £2.2bn for 2025-26.

“The EA seems happy to go after easier, more law-abiding targets like individual farmers,” said Mr Barclay, the Conservative MP for North East Cambridgeshire.

See also: Environment Agency launches guidance to support farm inspections

But he added that the agency “is slow or unwilling to act on serious environmental crimes committed by organised gangs and big businesses”.

Mr Barclay highlighted the case of Saxon Pit in Whittlesey, near Peterborough, where more than 122,000t of waste was illegally dumped between October 2017 and February 2018.

“Seven years later, no prosecutions. If this isn’t a priority, what is?” he asked, revealing that the EA had repeatedly assured him the site was being treated as urgent.

In another incident in Whittlesey last September, a category one pollution event killed 900 fish near an Anglian Water outlet pipe. The EA has delayed publishing its findings until at least September 2025.

Jim Shannon, the DUP MP for Strangford, said: “It is an absolute scandal. The EA pursues farmers with zeal, yet big businesses and other people seem to be left to the side.”

He asked: “Is it not time that the EA supported farmers and helped them when they need it, rather than chasing them and not others?”

MPs also raised concerns about the time taken to issue permits, licences and other permissions, blocking business growth. Terry Jermy, the Labour MP for South West Norfolk, said such delays in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire were “a real barrier to prosperity”.

Incinerator projects

The EA has also been criticised for approving controversial incinerator projects, including one in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, during the general election “purdah” period, raising questions about transparency and planning.

Lewis Cocking, the Conservative MP for Broxbourne, said the EA “ticks boxes with MPs but doesn’t take real action. Our constituents are fed up.”

Mr Barclay and others called for “fundamental reform” of the EA to restore accountability and put an end to selective enforcement.

Agency response

An EA spokesperson said: “We take all reports of waste crime very seriously.

“Waste criminals trash our countryside and harm the environment – we are actively investigating cases at Saxon’s Pit and Kings Dyke, along with hundreds of others across the country, and will not hesitate to take tough enforcement action.

“We also work closely with farmers, taking a proportionate approach to farming regulation which is focussed on bringing farms into compliance through guidance and advice first.”