Corporate report

Environment Agency corporate scorecard 2022 to 2023 - quarter four

Published 19 July 2023

Applies to England

The corporate scorecard 2022 to 2023 quarter 4 (Q4) starts 1 January 2023 and ends 31 March 2023. The year end is 31 March 2023.

1. Corporate scorecard summary page

The Environment Agency use a red, amber, green system to see how we are performing at a glance. They are:

• green which means we are performing at or above the target(s) set
• amber which means we are falling slightly short of the target
• red which means there are improvements to be made

This table shows the red, amber, green scores for the 14 measures plus the actual and target figures.

1.1 A nation resilient to climate change

By 2025 we (the Environment Agency) will have created more climate resilient places and infrastructure, by ensuring the nation is prepared for flooding, coastal change and drought

Measure title	Units	Q4 year to date actual	Q4 year to date target	Year end target	Q4 year to date status
We reduce the risk of flooding for more properties	Number of properties better protected	59,351	60,000	60,000	Amber
We maintain our flood and costal risk management assets at or above the target condition	% of high risk assets at target condition	94.5%	98%	98%	Red

By 2025 we will be a stronger leader on climate adaptation and resilience, encouraging others to act now on the climate emergency

Measure title	Units	Q4 year to date actual	Q4 year to date target	Year end target	Q4 year to date status
We will deliver our strategic adaptation actions to tackle the climate emergency	Actions	93%	90%	90% minimum	Green

By 2025 we will be a recognised and trusted incident management organisation responding rapidly to environmental emergencies to protect people and the environment

Measure title	Units	Q4 year to date actual	Q4 year to date target	Year end target	Q4 year to date status
We have a first class incident response capability - proportion of trained staff employed in core incident roles	% Staff utilised	74%	80%	80%	Amber

1.2 Healthy air, land and water

By 2025 our air will be cleaner and healthier

Measure title	Units	Q4 year to date actual	Q4 year to date target	Year end target	Q4 year to date status
By 2025 our air will be cleaner and healthier	% reduction grams per tonne	4 out of 4	4 out of 4	4 out of 4 pollutants showing a reduction on the previous year	Green

By 2025 our rivers, lakes, groundwater and coasts will have better water quality and will be better places for people and wildlife

Measure title	Units	Q4 year to date actual	Q4 year to date target	Year end target	Q4 year to date status
Our rivers and coasts have better water quality and are better places for wildlife	Kilometres (km)	2,300	2,058	2,058	Green

By 2025 our air, land and water is better protected and enhanced

Measure title	Units	Q4 year to date actual	Q4 year to date target	Year end target	Q4 year to date status
We increase biodiversity and encourage an environmental net gain by creating more and better habitats for the benefit of people and wildlife	Hectares (ha) created and habitat restored	823	660	660 Hectares total	Green

We protect people and the environment through effective regulation	% compliance of permitted sites	98%	97%	97%	Green

1.3 Green growth and a sustainable future

By 2025 we will achieve cleaner growth by supporting businesses and communities to make good choices, through our roles as a regulator, adviser, operator and enabler

Measure title	Units	Q4 year to date actual	Q4 year to date target	Year end target	Q4 year to date status
We successfully influence planning decisions by local authorities	% decision notices successfully influenced	96.5%	97%	97%	Amber

By 2025 we will have cut waste crime and helped develop a circular economy

Measure title	Units	Q4 actual	Q4 target	Year end target	Q4 status
We reduce the number of high risk illegal waste sites	Number of high waste sites	175	180	180	Green

By 2025 we will be on track to deliver our sustainable business commitments, including to be net zero by 2030

Measure title	Units	Q4 actual	Q4 target	Year end target	Q4 status
Net zero by 2030 (total carbon)	Tonnes (carbon dioxide equivalents emissions)	295,832	246,363	246,363	Red

1.4 Enabling outcomes: life enhancing organisation - how we will deliver our actions: our people and our values

Measure title	Units	Q4 year to date actual	Q4 year to date target	Year end target	Q4 status
We manage our money efficiently	% spend on budget	99.5%	100%	100%	Green
We have a diverse workforce: a) The proportion of our staff are from black, Asian and minority ethnic (B.A.M.E)	% of workforce	5.3%	14%	14%	Red
We have a diverse workforce: b) The proportion of our executive managers who are female	% of executive manager workforce	48%	50%	50%	Amber
We have the lowest possible lost time incident (LTI) frequency rate	LTI frequency rate per 100,000 hours	0.10	0.11	0.11	Green

2. We reduce the risk from flooding for more properties.

Q4 Status	Actual	Cumulative target	Year end target
Amber	59,351	60,000	60,000

Commentary

During quarter 4 of 2022 to 2023, 20,027 properties were better protected from flooding and coastal erosion by schemes including:

• Wallasey Embankment, Wirral (Greater Manchester Area) - 1,735 properties
• Burton-upon Trent FRMS Phase 2 (West Midlands Area) - 1,413 properties

This takes the cumulative total since April 2021 to 59,351 properties. A total of 118 schemes better protected properties in 2022 to 2023.

Properties protected

2022 to 2023 programme cumulative target = 60,000

Quarter	Total
Q1 2021 to 2022	7,198
Q2 2021 to 2022	10,679
Q3 2021 to 2022	17,162
Q4 2021 to 2022	32,908
Q1 2022 to 2023	33,223
Q2 2022 to 2023	35,878
Q3 2022 to 2023	39,324
Q4 2022 to 2023	59,351

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
Working with delivery managers / programme specialists to derive the best method for measuring properties better protected to 2040 (for example effects of climate change).	Flood and Coastal Risk Management Manager	31/03/2023
Continued national priority programme (NPP) calls and a re-affirmation of the risks, issues and opportunities group alongside local integrated delivery teams support	Flood and Coastal Risk Management Manager	31/03/2027
Developing dashboards to measure various risks against properties and expected profiles.	Flood and Coastal Risk Management Manager	31/03/2023
Work with Defra to agree new profile and target	Deputy Director Portfolio Management Office	31/03/2023

3. We maintain our flood and coastal risk management assets at or above the target condition

Q4 Status	Actual	Target	Year end target
Red	94.5%	98%	98%

Commentary

Our reported asset condition has improved over quarter 4 to 94.5% from 94.0% in quarter 3. We have met our internal target of 94%. Continued asset data quality improvement works have been undertaken by area teams. This is to resolve most data errors from the transition to a new asset system, which were affecting our position. Area teams have completed 95% of targeted data corrections. An increasing number of below required condition assets are being identified from asset inspections. This is because of deterioration through ageing and recent wet weather over the past 2 quarters.

Asset condition is directly related to maintenance funding, which is currently lower than required. While it is sufficient to sustain asset condition between 94% and 95% (reflected by current performance) it is not currently enough to restore to our 98% target. This is compounded by an ageing asset stock, more frequent and extreme weather and increasing asset base.

Asset deterioration happens naturally, and we reduce the rate of deterioration by our active asset maintenance. Asset deterioration increases with more frequent flooding and with more frequent prolonged dry weather. There is evidence that climate change is causing increased rainfall intensity and the number of flood incidents, as well as rising sea levels and stormy weather. All these contribute to increased deterioration by causing additional loading conditions on all our assets. Our most vulnerable assets are our earth embankments which are susceptible to both prolonged dry weather and increased loading from flooding. The Environment Agency has over 12,500 earth embankments and over 5000 km of defences on main river and 1,800 km of defences on the coast and tidal estuaries.

Where assets are below their required condition this identifies that work is required. This does not mean that they have structurally failed or that performance in a flood is compromised.

We have prioritised the maintenance and repair of the highest risk assets. Where needed, we have risk mitigation measures and contingency plans in place to manage risk until any necessary repairs and maintenance are complete.

Quarter	% Actual (rounded)	% Target
Q1 19/20	97.2%	97.5%
Q2 19/20	96.9%	97.5%
Q3 19/20	96.2%	98%
Q4 19/20	96.1%	98%
Q1 20/21	95.8%	98%
Q2 20/21	95.2%	98%
Q3 20/21	95%	98%
Q4 20/21	94.5	98%
Q1 21/22	94.3	98%
Q2 21/22	95.4%	98%
Q3 21/22		98%
Q4 21/22	91.8	98%
Q1 22/23	91.8	98%
Q2 22/23	93.9 %	98%
Q3 22/23	94%	98%
Q4 22/23	94.5%	98%

Number of high consequence assets passing

At or above required target condition (Environment Agency)	Below required target condition (Environment Agency)
33,044	1,925

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
Repairing and maintaining flood defence assets remains a corporate priority.	Deputy Director, Asset Performance and Engineering	31/03/2023
Ensuring mitigation measures are in place for below required condition (BRC) assets to manage risk pending repairs.	Deputy Director, Local Operations	31/03/2023
Reducing the backlog of asset repair assessments	Deputy Director, Local Operations	31/03/2023

4. We deliver our climate impact plan and enabling UK net zero plan to tackle the climate emergency

Q4 status	Actual	Target	Year end target
Green	93%	90%	90%

Commentary

The Q4 status is green with 93% of actions on track. This breaks down to 47 of 49 adaptation actions on track (96% green) and 16 of 19 net zero actions on track (84% amber). Highlights this quarter include:

• advising water companies about a range of nature-based solutions, so they can build resilience and adaptation into their business plans
• supported government to include adaptation finance and net zero regulation in the updated green finance strategy - this will increase public and private investment in climate resilient national infrastructure
• submitting a final report to Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) for phase 2 of the environmental constraints in industrial clusters work - including a review of the environmental challenges of deploying net zero technology in Humber and Teesside
• our contribution to a joint office for Nuclear Regulation/Environment Agency assessment report in response to phase A of the Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) research, Development and Demonstration programme - part of the £385 million Advanced Nuclear Fund, which allocates funding for organisations to develop feasibility studies for their designs of AMR
• our Environment Agency methane action plan featuring as a case study in the UK government COP27 (an international climate change conference) communication on methane

Quarter	% Actual	% Target
Q4 2019/21	76	90
Q2 2020/21	70	90
Q4 2020/21	72	90
Q4 2021/22	78	90
Q2 2022/23	84	90
Q3 2022/23	93	90
Q4 2022/23	93	90

5. We have a first class incident response capability

Q4 status	Actual	Target	Year end target
Amber	74%	80%	80%

Commentary

Over the past 12 months there has been 3,308 trained staff who have responded to emergencies to reduce the effects of environmental incidents. This is comparable to Q3 numbers. Numbers of staff recorded as trained and capable has increased in the last quarter, for the first time in 12 months. This could be attributed to new staff joining with contractual obligations to take on an incident role.

Due to the way the metric is calculated, it’s this increase in staff numbers that has resulted in the small percentage drop in the overall performance since Q3. This is one of the reasons why the measure has been adjusted for the 2023 to 2024 reporting year. There are several other reasons as to why performance is falling, including:

• fewer incidents to respond to
• fewer trained staff volunteering on rosters
• gaps in reporting data

We do not have the insight to distinguish how much each reason contributes to the changes in metric performance. This is the last period that this measure will be reported in this form. The adjusted measure for 2023 to 2024 will provide some improved insight on a number of principal insight roles. In the meantime, a new system is in development for 2024, which will provide better data on our incident preparedness. Following the incident management metrics review, we have investigated what we need to measure, and how, to increase our confidence in the data. The new measure will be refined to be more meaningful, focusing on command and control, and first response roles, rather than all core roles.

We continue to ensure all staff on incident rosters can work flexibly and feel supported and confident to volunteer, particularly during escalated response periods. All new recruits are contractually obliged to perform incident management as part of their role.

We continue to ensure coverage of critical roles and essential services during industrial action.

Proportion of trained staff utilised in core incident roles

Quarter	Number
Q1 21/22	85%
Q2 21/22	83%
Q3 21/22	82%
Q4 21/22	77%
Q1 22/23	76%
Q1 22/23	76%
Q2 22/23	76%
Q3 22/23	75%
Q4 22/23	74%

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
Following the review of data used to report this measure, a new measure will be introduced for 2203 to 2024, which will offer marginal improvements on insights about our incident response capability.	Deputy Director Service Strategy and Investment	31/05/2023

6. Air quality is improving

6.1 4 out of 4 pollutants showing a reduction on the previous year: (Sulphur oxides, Sox; nitrogen oxides, Nox; fine particulate matter, PM2.5 and non-methane volatile organic compounds, NMVOCs.

Q4 status	Actual	Target (tonnes)	Year end target
Green	4 out of 4	4 out of 4	4 out of 4 pollutants showing a reduction on the previous year

Commentary

We have expanded the air quality measure to report emissions of 4 key pollutants:

• sulphur oxides, (Sox)
• nitrogen oxides, (Nox)
• fine particulate matter, (PM2.5)
• non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs)

From 4 main industry sectors:

• refineries
• large volume organic chemicals (LVOCs)
• metals (NFM)
• large combustion plant (LCP)

The year end measure in 2022 is green, due to overall decreases in emissions for all 4 of the pollutants, for the 4 industry sectors, compared with 2021:

• the overall decrease in nitrogen oxides is due principally to significant decreases from the combustion sector - this is potentially a result of reduced combustion activities because of high gas prices and higher production of electricity from wind
• expected reductions in sulphur oxides emissions resulted from the continued closure of coal powered stations - as well as from decreases from some of the larger refineries
• overall decreases in fine particulate matter have stemmed largely from the metals sector - also due to changes in activities at some locations

Finally, the decrease in non-methane volatile organic compounds stems from decreases from the large volume organic chemicals sub-sector. This is due principally to the closure of the 2 largest emitters for the sector. The decrease observed from the refineries sector was also expected, due to increased leak detection. There was a slight increase from the large combustion plant sector, but not significant enough to affect the overall picture.

7. Our rivers and coasts have better water quality and are better places for wildlife

Q4 status	Actual (km)	Target (km)	Year end target (km)
Green	2,300	2,058	2,058

Commentary

We are reporting a further 699 kilometres (km) of enhancements on English rivers and groundwaters between January and March 2023. Most of these enhancements have come from the Countryside Stewardship Programme, where 688 km of rivers enhancements were reported. This programme offers financial incentives for farmers, foresters and land managers to look after and improve the environment. Whilst the individual enhancements are often small, together they make a real difference to the local environment, reducing flood risk and reducing diffuse pollution.

In addition to the Countryside Stewardship programme, several individual projects have made a great contribution. A partnership project with Anglian Water, which used clover as a cover crop at a farm near Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire has enhanced the Grimsby Ancholme Louth Chalk Unit groundwater body. This has also benefited from changes to abstraction licences.

• a refinery near Southampton has adopted a new treatment process to enable a big reduction of pollution to levels well below drinking water standards
• in Yorkshire several sites contributed to 3.5 km enhanced, due to works carried out by Yorkshire Waterhis was mainly at Knostrop Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) near Rothwell, contributing 2 km enhanced
• other sites were Burley in Wharfdale (0.5 km)
• Wetherby Sewage Treatment Works (0.5 km)
• Castleford WWTW (0.5 km)

Kilometres of rivers, lakes and coastal waters enhanced this year

Quarter	Actual km	Target km
Q1 2020/21	31	100
Q2 2020/21	4,193	1,509
Q3 2020/21	4,230	3,445
Q4 2020/21	4,551	3,900
Q1 2021/22	822	883
Q2 2021/22	1,245	1,272
Q3 2021/22	1,347	1,650
Q4 2021/22	1,528	1,650
Q1 2022/23	1,475	1,300
Q2 2022/23	1,548	1,548
Q3 2022/23	1,602	1,984
Q4 2022/23	2,300	2,058

Insight cumulative totals

Quarter	Actual km	Target km
Q2 2020/21	10,967	8,000
Q3 2020/21	11,004	8,000
Q4 2020/21	11,292	8,000
Q1 2021/22	12,167	8,000
Q2 2021/22	12,590	8,000
Q3 2021/22	12,799	8,000
Q4 2021/22	12,980	8,000
Q1 2022/23	14,445	9,300
Q2 2022/23	14,518	9,300
Q3 2022/23	14,572	9,300
Q4 2022/23	15,271	9,300

8. We increase biodiversity and promote an environmental net gain by creating more and better habitats for the benefit of people and wildlife

Q4 status	Actual	Target	Year end target
Green	660	823	660 hectares (ha)

Commentary

We created 405 hectares of new priority habitat and restored another 418 hectares, a total of 823 hectares. This is equivalent to an area 4 times the size of Monaco.

Even though our target for this year was a challenging 660 hectares, we have exceeded our expectations thanks to the work of our staff and our partners. This is including larger than expected areas of blanket bog restoration work in:

• East Midlands
• Greater Manchester
• Merseyside
• Cheshire

This achievement is despite restrictions due to:

• incidents and incident recovery
• high levels of staff turn-over
• a reduced capital works pipeline
• reduced funding from the Water Environment Improvement Fund

We have also planted nearly 127,000 trees.

Quarter	Hectares created	Target
2018/19	460	410
2019/20	3,147	1,280
2020/21	1,897	1,200
2021/22	1,111	620
2022/23	823	660

9. We protect people and the environment through effective regulation

Q4 status	Actual	Target	Year end target
Green	97.6%	97%	97%

Commentary

As an organisation we have reaffirmed our commitment to be a trusted and respected regulator and the priority given for our regulatory activity. This measure provides an indication of how well the environment and our communities are protected from pollution caused by regulated sites by as it measuring compliance with permit conditions.

In 2022 we assessed 97% (13,638) of the waste and installation permitted sites as good and 3% (332) as poor. This was using the compliance rating guidance published on gov.uk. These sites include a range of sectors:

• chemicals
• combustion
• metals
• biowaste,
• intensive farming
• incineration

During COVID-19 we adopted innovative ways to carry out regulatory work and continue to develop our ability to regulate remotely to ensure greater compliance in future.

For 2022 to 2023, we set the priority to increase our regulatory compliance activities in line with risk and funding. We continue to operate in an open and transparent way so those we regulate understand what is expected of them. The public can see the results of our regulation, recognising those going beyond compliance.

Quarter	Actual	Target
Q4 2022/23	97.6%	97%

10. We successfully influence planning decisions by local planning authorities

Q4 status	Actual	Target	Year end target
Amber	96.5%	97%	97%

Commentary

Whilst the performance in quarter 4 was 97% and green, the overall performance for the year is unfortunately 96.5%. This is slightly below the 97% target and therefore amber.

There were 28 decisions, out of a total of 935, that were not in line with our advice. Of the decisions recorded in quarter 4 there were 171 planning applications where we had initially raised objections, but by engaging with developers we managed to resolve our concerns. This facilitated the creation of 7,048 new residential units (if all the planning permissions were implemented). These residential developments, once built, will help contribute over £1 billion to the UK economic output.

Most planning decisions are in line with our advice, however, there appear to be 2 areas of concern which are influencing our performance. Flood risk is the reason for most objections to planning applications. By working with developers and local planning authorities (LPAs) we resolve many of these objections but occasionally the LPA doesn’t follow our advice.

Examination of planning committee reports show that in the decision making process, there is:

• a lack of understanding of the mechanics of flooding (understandable given the complexities of flood modelling)
• government flood risk policies are still on occasions being applied incorrectly

On occasions we are requesting the inclusion of conditions that do not meet all the “6 tests” for planning conditions for example:

• necessary
• relevant to planning
• relevant to the development to be permitted
• enforceable
• precise
• reasonable in all other respects

In these circumstances the LPAs are not following our advice. Provision of further advice or guidance and training for both our internal staff and LPA planning officers would help address these issues.

Quarter	Total
2020/21	97.8%
Q1 2021/22	98%
Q2 2021/22	98.6%
Q3 2021/22	98.7%
Q4 2021/22	98.2%
Q1 2022/23	93.9%
Q2 2022/23	95.4%
Q3 2022/23	96.2%
Q4 2022/23	96.5%

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
National Office Sustainable Places to finalise the training and development material that’s currently in production and Operations to ensure that this training is completed by all relevant staff.	Deputy Director Sustainable Places, Business & Environment Strategy / Area Director with portfolio lead for Sustainable Places	30/09/2023
Resource permitting, Area Sustainable Places teams to review planning decisions where our flood risk advice hasn’t been followed to determine whether the LPA has applied National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) policy correctly or simply not understood our concerns. Where this is found engage with the relevant LPA to help improve their technical knowledge and understanding.	Area Director with portfolio lead for Sustainable Places	30/09/2023

11. We reduce the number of high risk illegal waste sites

Q4 status	Actual	Target	Year end target
Green	175	180	180

Commentary

In quarter 4 the number of active high risk illegal waste sites decreased by 15 to 175, meaning we end the year with a green status.

The reported figures are likely to be an underestimate. Due to ongoing recruitment and on boarding of local Environmental Crime Officers, there’sa backlog of illegal waste sites reports that have yet to be substantiated. Therefore the number are likely to be higher than the total currently recorded. Over recent months new officers have been successfully recruited and will focus on working through the assessments. This is likely to lead to increase in the number of substantiated high risk illegal waste sites. Recruitment to vacancies continues.

Quarter	Total	Ceiling target
Baseline 19/20	233	233
Q1 20/21	250	233
Q2 20/21	237	227
Q3 20/21	218	222
Q4 20/21	206	216
Q1 21/22	201	216
Q2 21/22	208	211
Q3 21/22	201	205
Q4 21/22	194	200
Q1 22/23	188	195
Q2 22/23	180	190
Q3 22/23	190	185
Q4 22/23	175	180

Actions

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
In response to resource pressures, Operational teams will continue to prioritise their effort on the offending that poses the greatest threat, risk and harm.	Operational teams	30/06/2023
As Operational teams secure new resource, they will work through the significant backlog of unsubstantiated reports of illegal waste sites. We anticipate that there is likely to be an increase in the numbers as a result but believe that this will present a more accurate picture of the real number of high risk illegal waste sites	Operational teams	30/06/2023

12. A net zero organisation by 2030 (total carbon)

Q4 status	Actual	Ceiling target	Year end target
Red	295,832	246,363	246,363

Commentary

At year end 2022 to 2023 we are at 120% of the annual target. As forecast in Q3 our overall status remains red and over target, with our biggest net zero carbon footprint effect being the ‘Construction’ category. We are also red for the ‘other indirect’ category which covers travel and our wider supply chain. The rest of the categories however are green and below target.

The effect of construction has increased to over 200,000 tonnes and is now 70% of our total carbon footprint compared to the 2019 baseline of 54%. The increased levels of emissions reflect the increased capital programme. Significant measures will need to be put in place to ensure that we meet our carbon reduction targets for future years. This includes the rigorous application of carbon budgets. FCRM have now introduced decarbonisation plans for each of our 6 delivery hubs. This is to track how well designs are meeting decarbonisation targets at full business case stage, rather than waiting for data at the end of construction.

Carbon data reporting is a project requirement and the provision of construction data continues to improve. it is disappointing to note that carbon data is still not being provided for 35% of construction projects.. Until this data is supplied, confidence in the construction data will remain low and insight on where to act will remain partial.

Emissions will continue to reflect the increased construction programme through to 2026 to 2027, but should reduce in carbon intensity.

Encouragingly, carbon literacy rates continue to grow across the Environment Agency. We achieved Gold Carbon Literacy Accreditation from the Carbon Literacy Trust in January of Q4. We are the first government body to achieve external accreditation with a total of 6,161 Environment Agency colleagues now fully certified. We hope to become Platinum Accredited in 2023 to 2024.

Quarter	Total
2018/19	30,930
Q1 19/20	8,529
Q2 19/20	14,019
Q3 19/20	22,297
Q4 19/20	31,217
Q1 20/21	5,078
Q2 20/21	4,243
Q3 20/21	4,748
Q4 20/21	5,558
Q1 21/22	5,558
Q2 21/22	4,082
Q3 21/22	14,724
Q4 21/22	20,485
Q1 22/23	53,901
Q2 22/23	121,056
Q3 22/23	181,032
Q4 22/23	295,832

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
Leading - ensure teams are striking an appropriate balance between the need to meet face to face and to embrace the hybrid ways of working learned during the pandemic.	executive directors, directors and deputy directors.	30/06/2023
Reporting - low carbon concrete is being used on some projects, but not yet being reported: carbon data returns from construction projects needs to continue to improve.	executive directors, directors and deputy directors.	30/06/2023
Investing - continue to seek options to fund carbon reduction plans using in year budgets where possible,whilst making more strategic, longer term plans for future years.	executive directors, directors, area directors and deputy directors.	01/06/2023

13. We manage our money effectively to deliver our outcomes

Q4 status	Actual - £million	Budget - £million	Year end target
Green	1,747 m	£1,755 m	Green	100%

Commentary

The measure reports on effective management of our money to achieve our outcomes. It is based on the percentage of our full year funding that we have invested. The Environment Agency has a major capital and resource programme of investment projects and conducts a very detailed planning process. This is to ensure appropriate prioritisation of these investments. We are subject to a series of strong financial and governance controls that both protect this investment and present a logistical challenge in providing the programme of expenditure. This is considered an appropriate measure, with expenditure being connected to achieving our environmental outcomes. This measure is therefore inextricably linked to most of the other scorecard measures.

The Environment Agency has invested £1,747 million on the environment in 2022 to 2023. This is around 7% higher than the amount invested in the previous financial year. Investment has accelerated on project programmes as planned in the final quarter of the year. The final spend is very close to allocated funding in total across resource and capital budgets.

Cumulative expenditure against YTD budget (%)

Quarter	Total
Q4 19/20	100%
Q1 20/21	103%
Q2 20/21	93%
Q3 20/21	96%
Q4 20/21	96%
Q1 21/22	98%
Q2 21/22	95%
Q3 21/22	97%
Q4 21/22	100%
Q1 22/23	94%
Q2 22/23	94%
Q3 22/23	95%
Q4 22/23	100%

Cumulative expenditure against YTD budget (£million)

Quarter	Planned profiled cumulative expenditure (£million)	Actual cumulative expenditure (£million)
Q4 19/20	£1,305	£1,303
Q1 20/21	£304	£313
Q2 20/21	£707	£654
Q3 20/21	£1,117	£1,073
Q4 20/21	1,630	1,563
Q1 21/22	£321	£316
Q2 21/22	£750	£716
Q3 21/22	£1,182	£1,143
Q4 21/22	£1,635	£1,640
Q1 22/23	£348	£326
Q2 22/23	£746	£792
Q3 22/23	£1,262	£1,204
Q4 22/23	£1,755	£1,747

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
Annual report and accounts for 2022 to 2023 to be prepared for audit by the National Audit Office (NAO), sign off by directors and laying before Parliament.	Director of Finance	31/10/2023

14. We have a diverse workforce

The proportion of our staff who are from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background (B.A.M.E %)

Q4 status	Actual	Target	Year end target
Red	5.3%	14%	14%

Commentary

Our current target is that 14% of all employees are from black, Asian or minority ethnic (B.A.M.E) backgrounds. This target was agreed in February 2023 to increase to 18% in line with the 2021 census data.

In Q4 the proportion of B.A.M.E. employees in the Environment Agency was 5.3% and 7.9% of new recruits were from B.A.M.E backgrounds compared to 6.7% in Q4 2021 to 2022. In Q4, 6% (13) of our 226 leavers were from B.A.M.E backgrounds. This increased from 5% (10) of our 196 leavers in Q4 2021 to 2022. In Q4, 7 out of our 13 leavers (54%) from a B.A.M.E background completed an exit questionnaire. The main reasons reported for leaving were the same across leavers from B.A.M.E and white backgrounds:

• salary (34%)
• job dissatisfaction (28%)
• career change (25%).

These reasons are slightly different to the top 3 in Q3 where lack of opportunity and progression were highlighted. During quarters 3 and 4 we trialled new approaches to recruitment with an external provider. This targeted more diverse communities and aimed to remove bias from processes. They report that they have attracted significantly more candidates from B.A.M.E. backgrounds. Campaigns for some roles achieved 19% of verbal offers being made to candidates from B.A.M.E. backgrounds.

The recent increase of black Asian minority ethnic (B.A.M.E.) representation in the Environment Agency, from 4.5% in 2022 to 5.3% in 2023, has been possible thanks to a large number of vacancies (around 2000). Our centralised recruitment system has made a targeted effort in attracting and recruiting diverse candidates.

Our current turnover stands at a figure below 10%, while the UK average is 15%. Whilst this reflects the loyalty of Environment Agency employees, it is an additional slowing factor in achieving real progress on increasing diversity in the organisation.

B.A.M.E staff as % of all staff

2022 to 2023 target = 14%

Quarter	Total
Q1 2020/21	4.4%
Q2 2020/21	4.5%
Q3 2020/21	4.4%
Q4 2020/21	4.5%
Q1 2021/22	4.4%
Q2 2021/22	4.5%
Q3 2021/22	4.5%
Q4 2021/22	4.6%
Q1 2022/23	4.7%
Q2 2022/23	5%
Q3 2022/23	5.1%
Q4 2022/23	5.3 %

The proportion of our executive managers who are female

Q4 status	Actual	Target	Year end target
Amber	48%	50%	50%

Commentary

We have a target for 50% of executive managers to be female. In quarter 4 the percentage of executive managers (EMs) who are female was 48.1% (50). The proportion of female EMs has remained static over the past 2.5 years. In quarter 4 the percentage of grade 7 managers who are female was 39% (231) an increase from 38% (212) from quarter 4 2021 to 2022. This is encouraging evidence of an increase in the internal talent pipeline for women into executive manager roles. The equality, diversity and inclusion action plan includes commitments to help improve diversity in our employee population, including executive managers. This includes:

• advertising vacancies for roles lasting 6 or more months externally and internally
• ensuring that recruitment to all roles at grade 7 and above are conducted by diverse shortlisting and interview panels

We are now exploring how we ascertain compliance rates and how to better support recruiting managers. For grade 7 female employees, the growth trend is positive. There has been a slow, but steady increase over the last 2 ½ years. There needs to be more concentration on how to ensure that this pipeline is better linked to the EM opportunities.

Proportion of executive managers (EMs) who are female %

2022/23 target = 50%

Quarter	Total
Q1 2020/21	44%
Q2 2020/21	42%
Q3 2020/21	43%
Q4 2020/21	44%
Q1 2021/22	44%
Q2 2021/22	45%
Q3 2021/22	45%
Q4 2021/22	43%
Q1 2022/23	45%
Q2 2022/23	43%
Q3 2022/23	45%
Q4 2022/23	48%

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
Equality impact assessment for pay flex transformation business case	Chief Operating Officer	31/12/2023
Review of Corporate Scorecard measures	Chief Operating Officer	31/12/2023

15. We have the lowest possible lost time incident (LTI) frequency rate

Q4 status	Actual	Ceiling rate	Year end target
Green	0.10	0.11	0.11

Commentary

Whilst the lost time injury frequency rate remains below our ceiling, it has continued to drift up for a second quarter. It is not unusual to see a slight increase in seasonal injuries (such as slips in icy conditions). However, beyond this there are no causal trends in the data. We continue to monitor the measure to indicate if our risk controls remain effective.

Lost time incident frequency rate

12 month rolling average

Quarter	Number
October 2020	0.08
November 2020	0.07
December 2020	0.08
January 2021	0.10
February 2021	0.10
March 2021	0.10
April 2021	0.10
May 2021	0.11
June 2021	0.11
July 2021	0.09
August 2021	0.09
September 2021	0.08
October 2021	0.07
November 2021	0.06
December 2021	0.06
January 2022	0.07
February 2022	0.06
March 2022	0.05
April 2022	0.05
May 2022	0.04
June 2022	0.05
July 2022	0.05
August 2022	0.05
September 2022	0.06
October 2022	0.06
November 2022	0.08
December 2022	0.08
January 2023	0.10
February 2023	0.10
March 2023	0.10

Number of LTIs

Quarter	Number
Q1 2020/21	1
Q2 2020/21	9
Q3 2020/21	3
Q4 2020/21	8
Q1 2021/22	3
Q2 2021/22	4
Q3 2021/22	3
Q4 2021/22	0
Q1 2022/23	4
Q2 2022/23	3
Q3 2022/23	8
Q4 2022/23	6