Impact case study database

Led to profound shifts in UK environmental and agricultural policy

From 2015 to 2020, LEEP research directly shaped the transformation of the UK Government’s approach to environmental and agricultural policy. Through influencing policy principles, developing the content of core policy materials and delivering policy-critical evidence, LEEP has helped guide a profound shift in the policy landscape towards reversing environmental decline, tackling climate change and bringing enduring benefits to society.

Through his eminent position on the Government’s independent Natural Capital Committee (NCC), reporting to H.M. Treasury and advising Defra, Bateman advised government (2015-2020; **[5.1]**) on the valuation and efficient allocation of environmental resources [3.1, 3.2, 3.4]. This advice was delivered through more than twenty official papers to government and Ministers, a series of personal ministerial briefings with the Secretary of State for the Environment and through reports to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Through these routes, LEEP research findings and advice were directly incorporated into the seminal 25 Year Environment Plan (25YEP; [5.2]), initially proposed by Bateman and NCC colleagues in 2016. Widely regarded as pioneering, the 25YEP laid out a long-term plan for improving the environment based on natural capital principles and, as such, became “ the cornerstone of environmental improvement” [5.1].

In writing to thank Bateman for his “ ground-breaking” [5.1] work with other NCC members proposing the 25YEP, the Head of the Defra NCC Secretariat, stated:

“Professor Bateman led the work on land use and agriculture in the initial (25YEP) proposal. (His) advice was therefore pivotal in both proposing and shaping the 25 YEP”. [5.1]

In 2017, the Secretary of State for the Environment accepted the 25YEP proposal and formally requested advice from the NCC on how to “ enshrine the 25YEP in legislation and ensure it is implemented effectively” [5.1]. Bateman was subsequently lead author of the NCC’s influential response, [5.1], the 2017 report ‘Advice to Government on the 25YEP’ [5.3]. Of the 14 policy recommendations set out in this report [5.3, p.6-7], 11 were subsequently adopted by government into the new Environment Bill [5.1; 5.3]. This included advice on the requirement for statutory targets for environmental improvement and creation of the Office for Environmental Protection designed to uphold environmental legislation [5.1], as confirmed in the UK government Spending Review 2020.

Guiding “ the biggest change in agricultural policy in half a century” [5.4], LEEP research and advice additionally laid out the case for replacement of the inefficient allocation of farm support payments under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with a new system based on the principle of ‘public money for public goods’. This system was formally adopted into the new Agriculture Act 2020 and LEEP’s impact acknowledged [5.1]:

“Professor Bateman’s advice … directly influenced Defra’s post-Brexit agricultural policy. Specifically … research findings as set out in Bateman & Balmford (2018) [3.2] , resulted in the adoption of the concept ‘public money for public goods’ as the central and transformative principle of the new Agriculture Bill”. [5.1]

Enabled the design of UK agricultural policy implementation post-Brexit

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Embedded environmental value requirements into H.M. Treasury public spending guidelines

The 2018 revision of the H.M. Treasury ‘Central Government Guidance on Appraisal and Evaluation’, better known as the ‘Green Book’ – the official guidelines used by all government departments and agencies to prepare government spending business cases – provides further evidence of the recent paradigm shift in government decision-making around environmental policy and valuation [5.7].

Bateman, in his pivotal role on the NCC, co-authored ground-breaking sections of the revised 2018 Green Book guidance [5.7; 5.8, 3.4], namely Chapter 6 “Valuation of Costs and Benefits” and Appendix A2: “Non-market Valuation and Unmonetisable Values”. Based on LEEP research and advice, this revision - the first in 15 years [5.8] - updated guidance on appraising environmental values in response to the UK’s adoption of the 25YEP and introduced the notion of ensuring that natural capital stocks did not fall below crucial tipping points [3.5]. These changes elevated the value of ecosystem services to a position of parity with the financial costs and benefits routinely evaluated in project and policy appraisal. Application of Green Book guidance will deliver enduring benefits to society, through the sustainable provision of critical environmental services, such as clean air and water, the fertility of soils, mitigation of floods, climate stability, and the space to connect with nature.

Bateman was subsequently asked by H.M. Treasury [5.7] to deliver a unique cross-government event to present methods for applying the new Green Book guidance on environmental values. This event (April 2019) was attended by economists from no less than 12 of the 24 ministerial government departments, and 7 further government agencies and public bodies [5.7].

In thanking Bateman for his contributions to the 2018 revised Green Book, Head of the Economics Branch, HM Treasury and Editor of the Green Book) wrote:

“My colleagues and I are very grateful for your invaluable advice and input ...[to] the new Green Book. … The resulting guidance is likely to be both enduring and provide a lasting legacy. Your contribution will therefore have a considerable and lasting impact upon the public policy and spending appraisal for many years to come.” [5.7]

Since publication in March 2018, the revised Green Book has been actively used to appraise Government projects and policies. In 2019, a NCC-commissioned review of the official appraisals of over 200 government spending decisions with significant natural capital effects confirmed that the new Green Book guidance had been applied, and so shaped government spending decisions worth many billions of pounds [5.9]. An example is provided by the Defra ‘Biodiversity net gain and local nature recovery strategies’ programme [5.10] which aims to deliver benefits to the environment and society through habitat creation and avoided habitat loss. Approved by the Regulatory Policy Committee’s Impact Assessment in 2019, it conforms to the guidance in sections of the new Green Book guidelines, that were co-authored and based on LEEP research, and delivers a net present value of approximately GBP 8.2 billion [5.10]. All government spending now has to conform to these guidelines, affecting GPB127 billion of public sector investments (to Dec 2020), since the 2018 Green Book revision was published [5.7].