6.28pm GMT

In the spirit of cutting useless bureaucratic guidance, the prime minister has announced a vast reform package, while at the same time providing almost no information about what it actually entails.

Cameron's statement that "this is going to be the first government in modern history that at the end of its parliamentary term has less regulation in place than there was at the beginning" is an extraordinary ideological remark. The PM's inherently negative attitude towards regulation has inflamed the green business sector. They see Cameron's rhetoric as a continuation of the government's "green crap" messaging. The UK Green Building Council expressed dismay that the prime minister is distancing himself from the type of regulation the green sector relies upon for continuity and confidence.

What is certain is that 74% of the legislation that governs the UK's environment is being removed or amended in a manner so sweeping and chaotic that scrutiny is difficult. The danger for the environment in this approach is that even if the majority of reforms remove unnecessary or obsolete legislation (a cursory glance at a few of the proposed changes confirms this is probably the case) there is room for the government to shift the direction of regulation away from environmental protection.

Green groups have highlighted a few examples where they say this has happened.

Changes foreshadowed to Environmental Impact Assessments might make it easier for small projects to skip this important process.

Reforms of the trespassing legislation governing fracking stand to make it easier to attain permission for exploration activities.

Conversely, changes to planning legislation may make it more difficult to build wind farms.



Whether or not these particular reforms are part of the Red Tape Challenge, or simply happening alongside it, is unclear. What is certain is that Cameron's ideological war on regulation creates enormous legislative flux. The government is asking the public to trust them to adhere to the spirit of the existing laws, while "streamlining" them for business. It seems unlikely this can go well for the environment.