The government has announced that it will not now be publishing its 25-year Food and Farming Plan, or the accompanying 25-year Environment Plan, on schedule. Neither plan will now be published before the end of the year.

The delay to the Food and Farming Plan, which was meant to be published this summer, and the full Environment Plan due for release later in the year, are down to the outcome of the EU Referendum, government sources have said.

The vote for Britain to leave the EU presents a different set of challenges and opportunities for environmental goals, according to Defra, with a letter from the department to stakeholders earlier this month stating that “The outcome of the EU referendum vote provides us with the opportunity to expand the scope of the plan to consider a long-term vision for the type of environment we want in Britain outside of the EU.”

Although the department said it is committed to publishing a 25-year plan, Defra has not released any details on the timescale for its post-Brexit Environment Plan.