Lord Gardiner of Kimble, yesterday confirmed that “a full and proper consultation” will take place early 2018 on the powers which a new post-Brexit environmental enforcement agency will hold.
It was also further suggested that the enforcement agency could be in place before the UK leaves the European Union.
Baroness Jones (Green Party) asked Lord Gardiner in a House of Lords meeting on Monday (8 January 2018) if the government intends to make the consultation process public, and if the agency could be operational prior to the March 2019 leaving date.
“We want to have detailed consideration with stakeholders and your Lordships so that we get the right decision because we recognise that something needs to be done to fill what we acknowledge is a governance gap. I am not sure about the precise timings, but the whole purpose of an early consultation is so that we can move this forward,” the minister said in the meeting.
She further referred to the new enforcement agency as an “Environmental Enforcement Agency”, and requested answers as to when it would be established and when the public expected this to be operational.
