The Chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), Philip Dunne MP, has written to the Environment Secretary saying that a “culture of delay” at the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is holding up progress on promised environmental policies.
The Government failed to meet the statutory deadline of 31st October to confirm new long-term targets for air quality, water, biodiversity and species abundance and resource efficiency and waste reduction.
The deadline to establish these targets was set in the Government’s Environment Act, which received Royal Assent in November 2021. The EAC has called for the targets now to be set and published ahead of the final stage of the COP15 international biodiversity conference, which is scheduled to open in Montreal on 7th December.
Environment Secretary Therese Coffey told the House of Commons on Thursday 17th November that she was “disappointed” to find that the Government was not yet in a place to publish the targets – this followed a consultation period which closed in June 2022.
The Committee is increasingly concerned to note delays in substantive policy progress at DEFRA in crucial areas.
EAC is calling on the Secretary of State to set out a timetable for the publication of documents on initiatives such as the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for packaging, the Chemicals Strategy, the Environmental Principles Policy Statement and the National Action Plan for Pesticides.
In his letter to the Secretary of State, the Committee Chairman singles out water quality and tackling fast fashion as key areas with slow progress.
In the last Parliament, EAC published a report on measures to tackle the negative environmental impacts of cheap clothing. While the Committee says that ministers rejected the majority of the report’s recommendations, the Government did pledge to launch a consultation on tackling textile waste – taking into account an EPR scheme and product design and consumer information – and on fishing gear. However, neither consultation paper has yet materialised.
On water quality, the Chairman’s letter raises concerns that the Government’s delay in setting a strong strategic direction for regulators and the industry via the statutory target under the Environment Act is holding up ministers’ commitments to addressing the wider issues affecting water quality in rivers in England.
I am confident that the new Environment Secretary, who is no stranger to DEFRA, will swiftly get a grip on these issues.
Environmental Audit Committee Chair, Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, said: “In common with many other stakeholders in the environmental sector, the Committee is increasingly concerned to note delays in substantive policy progress at DEFRA in crucial areas where the Government now has control of policy.
Dunne also highlighted that the country is facing grave challenges as it looks to reverse the decline of our precious biodiversity. He said that prompt, clear and decisive action is now of the utmost importance.
“My letter to the Environment Secretary sets out for her the Committee’s views on the policy areas which urgently need clarity after – in some cases – years of delay.
“I am confident that the new Environment Secretary, who is no stranger to DEFRA, will swiftly get a grip on these issues which have been backed up in her department. She will know that if we want the UK to be a global leader in sustainability, we must make more urgent progress.
“The Committee expects to see targets under the Environment Act published before global environmental leaders come together to discuss protecting biodiversity at next month’s landmark COP15 conference.”
