Regulator criticises Government departments for failing to hold post-implementation reviews of environment laws
A set of Government departments have been criticised after research found they had failed to complete post-implementation reviews (PIRs) of environmental laws on time, with one department having nearly 50 incomplete or late reviews.
The research by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has revealed that the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is one of the worst offenders, having failed to complete or failed to complete on time 49 of the 56 PIRs it is required to carry out. The remaining seven are not yet due.
Dame Glenys Stacey, Chair of the OEP, said the reviews are an important tool that allows Government to monitor and evaluate how environmental and other relevant laws are working.
She said: "It is important for Parliamentary accountability and wider scrutiny. And it allows Government to see in good time the extent to which the law and its implementation are sufficiently effective."
She later added: "Defra and other government departments have consistently failed to meet the legal requirements for these reports, and these failures appear to be widespread and longstanding."
The information is especially relevant as the Government is currently reviewing and making decisions about the future of environmental law, Stacey noted.
The Government is proposing changes to environmental law through a number of different bills, including the retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, the Energy Bill, and the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.
Whitehall is also currently consulting on changes to the Strategic Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Assessments that would see the two assessments replaced with 'Environmental Outcomes Reports'.
According to the OEP's research, on top of Defra's 49 late or incomplete PIRs, the department published a report more than four years late in one case.
OEP said it understands that Defra has plans to address its backlog.
Meanwhile, the research shows that the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has not published reports in respect of three of the four environmental laws identified where the date for report publication has passed. Further reports have been published since the research, however.
The Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) completed six reports required by law, although four of these were completed late. In six further instances, BEIS has not published the required report.
The OEP made the following three recommendations based on its findings:
- Government departments should plan and prioritise the delivery of post-implementation reviews.
- Post-implementation review, or equivalent, should be available to inform decisions being made about environmental law.
- Environmental protection and improvement should be taken into account when undertaking post-implementation reviews.
The OEP is a public body created in November 2021 with a remit to protect and improve the environment by holding Government and other public authorities to account.
The Government must formally respond to the report.
Adam Carey
