The ENDS Report

New prime minister Andy Burnham has announced his new top team. Big beasts – including Rachel Reeves, David Lammy and Steve Reed have left the government – and new secretaries of state have been appointed to key ministries.

Dame Angela Eagle has returned to DEFRA as environment secretary, after a recent move to the Home Office. Here’s what you need to know about her career in government and her green credentials…

DEFRA has clarified that the Land Use Framework (LUF) “is not intended to support factory farming or the intensification of poultry farming”, following a threat of legal action, seen exclusively by ENDS.

A controversial revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will not be published until the autumn, the government has confirmed.

The new DEFRA secretary Dame Angela Eagle has pledged to fix the water system, restore nature and back Britain’s farmers in her first public comments following her appointment to the role in Andy Burnham's cabinet reshuffle.

Emma Hardy is to remain as a minister at DEFRA, while Katie White and Michael Shanks are to remain as ministers at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), it has been confirmed.

The new government must publish the delayed Circular Economy Growth Plan to boost the economy and make progress on Environment Act targets, according to a letter signed by NGOs and industry associations seen exclusively by ENDS.

The Environment Agency (EA) has accused utility firm Southern Water and some of its former employees, including the former chief executive Matthew Wright, of an alleged “conspiracy to defraud” and has begun criminal proceedings.

The populist right-wing party is hoping to use newly gained councils as the vanguard of a crusade against green policies – but, as James Fair writes, Reform UK administrations all across England are finding that delivering the regulatory bonfire that the national leadership wants is not so simple.

There will only be enough water to supply around a third of the government’s 1.5 million housing target unless it removes barriers to water infrastructure, including “overly cautious” regulators, an industry trade body has said.