The environment bill committee met for the first time this morning, more than seven months after being suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The committee will meet throughout November to “scrutinise the bill line by line” and propose amendments, before reporting back to parliament on 1 December. The committee had originally planned to report to parliament in early May.
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow
Speaking this morning kicking off the new session, Rebecca Pow, parliamentary under secretary of state at Defra, said: “It is a privilege to be back with this committee, it has been more than seven months since we had to adjourn very unusually. We are still in a very tricky situation with the pandemic, but I am pleased to be carrying on looking at this hugely significant piece of legislation.
“Despite the fact we are in these very difficult times, we do need to look ahead as a government, and as a country, as we build back from this. This government remains committed to being a world leader in tackling environmental issues. Although the bill is paused, the work the government has been doing on it has not paused”.
Amendments
A string of amendments were proposed today, including one which “prevents the Government from giving directions to the interim chief executive of the OEP”, and others relating to what government environmental improvement plans must include.
Other amendments include ensuring that the chair of the committee, Lord Teverson, approves any civil servants or other external persons acting as interim chief executive of the OEP.
The committee will next meet on 5 November.
Opportunity
Speaking ahead of today’s meetings, Signe Norberg, public affairs manager at the Aldersgate Group, which describes itself as an alliance of leaders from business and politics, said parliament must “seize opportunity” to strengthen the bill.
“It is great to see the Environment Bill return to Parliament after over 200 days. Progress on the Bill must continue now at pace to ensure that we have a robust environmental governance system after the end of the transition period,” she explained.
Ms Norberg added: “The Environment Bill has the potential to be a world leading piece of environmental legislation but it needs to be strengthened in a number of areas, including the target setting process, the interim targets and the environmental improvement plans. Further clarity on the creation of the Office for Environmental Protection and related interim arrangements will be crucial.”
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