Defra has kick-started a consultation to ensure the establishment of a body to hold the government to account for environmental outcomes.
The new Environmental Principles and Governance Bill will make sure environmental protections will not be weakened as the UK leaves the EU, Defra has confirmed. The consultation will look at what contents the Bill can include.
The body will provide scrutiny and advice, and would be able to hold government to account on environmental legislation.
Subject to consultation, the new body could specifically be responsible for responding to complaints about government’s delivery of environmental law and holding government to account publicly over its delivery of environmental law.
Currently, environmental decisions made in the UK are overseen by the European Commission.
Defra Secretary Michael Gove said: "We will only achieve our aims by creating a strong and objective voice that champions and enforces environmental standards. That’s why our Environmental Principles and Governance Bill will also create an independent and statutory watchdog. This will hold governments to account for delivering their commitments to the natural world."
'Adding confusion'
However, the CLA, a rural organisation representing farmers and landowners, has criticised the potential watchdog as "adding confusion and complexity" to environmental policy.
CLA Director of Policy and Advice Christopher Price said the body could add increased bureaucracy to the system.
“We are concerned that what is suggested in this consultation could add significant cost, complexity and bureaucracy to the system and put at risk the better delivery of environmental policy,” Mr Price said.
“As we consider the proposals in detail and discuss the issues with officials and ministers, we will be challenging the Government on why it is not looking at a more fundamental consolidation of the many enforcement and reporting agencies currently involved in environmental governance.
Mr Price added: “The worst case scenario is that this agency could end up duplicating or confusing existing arrangements for scrutiny and enforcement in Parliament, existing public authorities and the courts.”
The consultation, which will run for 12 weeks, seeks views on the most effective way for the new body to hold government to account, which would include, as a minimum, the power to issue advisory notices. It asks what further enforcement mechanisms may be necessary.
The Environmental Principles and Governance Bill will be published in draft in the autumn. Public consultation on the environmental principles policy statement will follow in due course.
