The government has made a surprise announcement that the Environment Bill will be carried over to the “next parliamentary session”, with the recycling minister Rebecca Pow saying Royal Assent for the bill can now be expected in the autumn.
The government says the delay is down to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has resulted in “exceptional pressure on the parliamentary timetable which has reduced the amount of Parliamentary time available for the scrutiny of legislation”.
While parliamentary sessions generally don’t have a fixed length, they tend to follow the same pattern from spring to spring since 2010, meaning the return of the bill is likely after April.
The government announced today that the Environment Bill will be delayed until ‘the next parliamentary session’
The Bill contains crucial measures for the waste and recycling sector including provision for consistency in collections, reform of the producer responsibility system for packaging and a deposit return scheme.
Consultations
Consultations on these measures are now being scrutinised by government departments before formal consultations at the end of March. A potential six month or more delay to their implementation is already expected in some quarters, and the putting back of the Environment Bill assent to the Autumn at the earliest could also have a knock on effect on the timetable.
On the parliamentary schedule, MPs are still due to discuss amendments to the bill later today, but the report stage of the bill will not be completed until the next session of parliament in the spring.
‘Committed’
Mrs Pow has vowed that work on implementing measures in the bill will continue “at pace”, adding that the government remains committed to delivering on its manifesto pledges.
“We remain fully committed to the Environment Bill as a key part of delivering the Government’s manifesto commitment to create the most ambitious environmental programme of any country on Earth,” she said.
“Carrying over the Bill to the next session does not diminish our ambition for our environment in any way”
Mrs Pow commented: “Carrying over the Bill to the next session does not diminish our ambition for our environment in any way – with Report Stage recommencing early in the Second Session and Royal Assent expected in the Autumn. Key work on implementing the Bill’s measures will continue at pace, including establishing the Office for Environmental Protection, setting long-term legally-binding targets for environmental protection and creating a new Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers.”
Delays
This is not the first time the bill been delayed. The 2019-2021 Environment Bill was reintroduced into parliament in December 2019, this was a re-introduction of the environment bill from the previous parliamentary session.
The committee set up to examine the bill first met in March 2020, before being delayed due to the pandemic. The committee reconvened in November, and met twice a week throughout the month.
Concerns were raised at the time that this meant the report stage would not be completed before Brexit, meaning the UK will have no supreme environmental protection organisation operational after leaving the EU (see letsrecycle.com story).
The report stage was due to begin today, before moving on to the House of Lords and receiving royal assent, which the government says will now take place in the Autumn.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Packaging
