On 26 June 2013, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, set out the UK government's public spending plans for 2015-16 in its Spending Round 2013 (SR 2013).

This update summarises the main environmental announcements in the SR 2013. For a summary of other announcements in the SR 2013, see Legal update, 2013 Spending Round: property implications. For links to the relevant primary sources, see Sources below.

The SR 2013 builds on plans made in the SR 2010 (see Legal update, Spending Review 2010: environmental implications).

The government will also set out a long-term plan for capital investment to 2020 and beyond in a separate document, Investing in Britain's Future, which is due to be published on 27 June 2013 and will contain details and funding of specific plans.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will have to cut their overall budgets for 2015-16 by 8% and 9.6% respectively from 2014-15 levels.

DECC's savings will come largely from internal resource efficiencies. It will also have implemented several major projects and programmes, such as Electricity Market Reform (EMR) and the Green Deal by 2015-16, allowing for a reduction in the levels of resource required. For information on:

Defra's savings will come from better joint working between its delivery bodies and by removing duplication in back office functions. Defra will prioritise spending on economically high-value areas.

The government wants to ensure that public sector regulation does not hamper private sector investment and growth. It will continue the one-in, two-out rule for new regulation and the Red Tape Challenge.

The one-in, two-out rule means that before any new regulation (excluding those purely implementing EU-derived legislation) can be implemented, the sponsoring department must identify cuts in other regulations that bring savings to business equivalent to double the cost of the new regulation.

The Red Tape Challenge is a review of over 21,000 statutory instruments, which began in 2011.

For more information on the:

The government states that it has agreed with the regulators (one of which is the Environment Agency) a £78 million cut in costs in 2015-16, which is at least a 5% reduction in real terms for most regulators.

DECC's SR 2013 settlement includes:

Further details of investment in low-carbon energy projects will be set out in Investing in Britain’s Future, due to be published on 27 June 2013.

Defra's SR 2013 settlement includes support for flood defences, with resource spending maintained in cash terms. The government states that public investment in existing flood protection and new schemes will support the insurance industry to maintain available and affordable flood cover for households. Resource spending will remain at current levels in cash terms. The government is also committed to providing the necessary capital investment to strengthen flood defences.

Further details will be set out in Investing in Britain’s Future, due to be published on 27 June 2013.

SR 2013 contains no significant changes in environmental and energy policy. It will be interesting to read Investing in Britain’s Future, due to be published on 27 June 2013. This sets out the next stage of the government's economic infrastructure plan, containing specific plans for more than £100 billion of infrastructure projects.