INTERVIEWS

LORD SMITH ON THE RECORD

Erika Yarrow talks to the Chair of the Environment Agency.

Lord Smith brings a familiar face to the Agency - a political animal, he is media savvy and is very ready to express his views.  His relaxed and open demeanour is reflected in some of the changes that he is bringing to the Environment Agency.

Chris explains: 'There are two ways in which I am trying to change the way the Environment Agency does things.  It is a rather good organisation, but it does feel bureaucratic.  In some ways that is inevitable for such a large organisation with public sector responsibilities.  But there are ways in which we can lighten up and focus on environmental outcomes rather than bureaucratic mechanisms.  What we want is what's best for the environment and not what is best for the rule book.  But we do need consistency.  The Agency needs to be seen to be fair and make sure that the same rules apply to everyone.  I want Environment Agency staff to feel enabled and empowered to make decisions on the ground.'

He continues: 'The second area that needs change is the Agency's ability to communicate with the communities it serves. We need to be having genuine conversations. A lot of this is already happening and the Agency is getting better in this respect.'

The interview takes place as the Government warns that further bank bailouts may be inevitable.  I ask what the strain on public funds will mean for the Environment Agency?

'The immediate impact is beneficial ironically,' explains Lord Smith.  'The Government is anxious to bring forward as much capital expenditure as it can. This means that we will be bringing forward our flood defence programme.  I suspect it will mean that we have a smaller programme in subsequent years.  But in the short-term it means that things will happen faster.'

He continues: 'One upside is that we will get better access to skilled personnel if private industry is not competing for them.  I am potentially worried about public funding in two, three or four years time.  We are likely to be asked to make substantial efficiency savings in 2010 and 2011.  We have already been assiduous, making savings of £33 million last year, above and beyond the demands made from Defra.  We were able to put that money into environmental services, particularly flood defence. My concern is about what will happen in 2011-2013 when public finances will be in quite substantial difficulty and none of us know how that will impact on the work we do.  I will be making a strong case to protect all of our key areas of work.'

Extreme weather events in recent years have brought the work of the Environment Agency to public and media attention.  On the question of how the Agency has responded to this Chris Smith explains: 'We are doing a lot of training internally to help staff at regional level who have more contact with the public and media.  I am  conscious that there are some members of staff for whom this is not their natural territory and those people should not be made to engage in this kind of work.'

'There will be public consultation about the development of catchment management plans and shoreline management plans and I am trying to ensure that a genuine conversation is going on,' he continues.   'One of the things that I am constantly trying to tell people is that we will try to defend as best we can but we can't protect everything.  We have to work to priorities and act where there is the greatest threat.  Sometimes people aren't going to be able to appreciate all of the complexities, but the more open we are about the decision-making process, the more likely it is that people will accept the decision we make.'

He adds that a new approach to funding would be helpful: 'We need to be more flexible about the way funding is put together for flood defence.  Currently, it either comes from the Environment Agency or local government.  But it could come from the Regional Development Agency, developers or private owners.  We need to be more imaginative and more flexible so that we can do more work.  We have a tendency to have a purist approach and make the best "the enemy of the good."  If we can build a defence, but one that is not so robust, lasting only 20 or 25 years, then if that is what the community wants we should not stand in its way.'

On his appointment Lord Smith made clear that he would not hold his tongue if the Government acted in ways that flew in the face of environmental policy. He has stood by his word, talking publicly about controversial Government plans such as the Kingsnorth coal-fired power station and the expansion of Heathrow Airport. He explains: 'We are the major agency dealing with the impacts of climate change and it would be criminal if we did not add our voice to the debate about how the Government should be reducing emissions.  This is why we have come out against the expansion of Heathrow.  It sends out completely the wrong signal and undermines the good environmental work that the Government is doing.  We also take a strong and public line on the development of coal-fired power stations such as Kingsnorth.  The unabated burning of coal in power stations is unsustainable.' 

Practising what it preaches, the Environment Agency has reduced its own carbon footprint.  It now procures 95 percent of its electricity from renewable resources, emissions from business travel have been reduced by 43 percent and 99.5 percent of end-of-life IT equipment is either re-used or recycled.

On the Pitt report Lord Smith says: 'Michael Pitt did a really good job of work.  It is a comprehensive report with over 90 recommendations.  The establishment of a centre of expertise, with the Met Office and Environment Agency working closely together, will be extremely beneficial. Progress is being made on this.  We have identified the place and the people.  This is of particular significance because we are getting more unpredictable types of deluge - more localised, very heavy rain, which has an extreme impact on particular locations. We are trying to get the best information from Met Office modelling and this will be important in ensuring that we are able to act quickly when such events occur.'

He adds: 'The overview that the Environment Agency will have of surface flooding will also be important. When people's homes are flooded they don't care where the water came from, they just want all of the services to work to help them.  It isn't going to be easy.  Getting it through the Floods and Water Bill is going to be crucial.'

Taking place shortly after the Government's announcement on Heathrow, the conversation closes on that subject. 'There is still a long process to go through,' says Chris.  'There is a lot of land to be acquired.  There will have to be a proper planning process - probably under the new process - but it will still have to be done.  There is also the possibility of a General Election in which two of the parties running have committed to putting a stop to it if they come into power.' On the Government's decision he concludes: 'It seems really wishful thinking to think that you can meet the emissions limits with future increases in air traffic when you know you are already at breaking point.'