Contributions
909 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Tenth sitting)I am grateful to the shadow Minister for his kind remarks in wishing my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton Deane a speedy recovery, and for the amicable tone in which he is…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I beg to move amendment 217, in clause 36, page 22, line 11, at end insert “, and (b) the urgency condition is met.” This amendment provides that the OEP may only bring a judicial…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I thank the hon. Member for the amendments. The Government agree that it is important for the general public and interested parties to be able to challenge alleged breaches of…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Tenth sitting)We have sought to ensure that the OEP focuses its enforcement function on the most significant and serious breaches of environmental law. Unlike the European Commission, which can…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I thank the hon. Member for her contribution. I would like to reassure her that the Bill respects all the devolution settlements, including the Scotland Act. Therefore, the duty…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I thank the hon. Gentleman for this amendment, as it allows me to highlight the reporting mechanisms and duties the Bill creates for the Office for Environmental Protection and…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I thank the hon. Gentleman for tabling the amendment, as it gives me the opportunity to clarify the OEP’s remit. The intention of the amendment is to include international…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)The Bill provides the OEP with statutory functions that enable it to provide advice on any proposed changes to environmental law. It can also provide advice, at the request of a…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I take the hon. Gentleman’s point, but the key word here is “flexibility”. It is important that flexibility be retained in the relationship so that the Government can interact…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I thank hon. Members for their contributions. I agree that it is of great importance that the OEP should be able to hold public authorities to account, and that all parties should…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I thank the hon. Lady for tabling her amendment. It is of course important that the OEP be aware of potential breaches of environmental law, and the power to receive complaints is…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I thank the hon. Gentleman for his contribution and agree that it is extremely important that the OEP should operate as transparently as possible. However, it is also important…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)It is only a matter of time.05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I understand the hon. Gentleman’s desire to ensure that all failures are addressed by the OEP. However, the amendment may in fact limit the OEP’s ability to resolve failures…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I beg to move amendment 205, in clause 32, page 19, line 2, at end insert— “(aa) explains why the OEP considers that the alleged failure, if it occurred, would be serious, and”.…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)Amendment 205 is a technical amendment that serves to clarify that an information notice issued by the OEP must explain why the OEP considers that the alleged failure would be…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)It is, of course, important that the OEP’s enforcement framework is robust. However, we do not consider that binding notices would be an effective or appropriate means of…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I beg to move amendment 207, in clause 35, page 20, line 40, leave out “Upper Tribunal” and insert “court”. This amendment replaces a reference to the Upper Tribunal with a…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I thank the hon. Gentleman for his contribution. We support his intention of ensuring that the court has powers to grant appropriate remedies in environmental reviews. With regard…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)This group of amendments will move the environmental review process from the upper tribunal to the High Court. Having reflected further on how that process will fit within the…05 Nov 2020