Office for Environmental Protection: Public Appointments

(asked on 14th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2020 Question 57161, what assessment he has made of the effect of the (a) timetable for the Environment Bill and (b) covid-19 outbreak on the public appointments timescales for the board of the proposed Office for Environmental Protection.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 22nd October 2020

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) Chair and Non-Executive Director (NED) campaigns have accounted for potential changes to the timetable of the Environment Bill. The published Chair candidate pack outlined that should there be a delay to Royal Assent, then the chair would be appointed to Defra as the “OEP Chair Designate.” They would then transfer to the OEP as Chair upon Royal Assent. This arrangement will also be mirrored in the NED campaign pack. The Chair Designate (and subsequently NED Designates) would therefore be available to be involved in activities to support the OEP and any interim arrangements. We do not anticipate that COVID-19 will have any further impact on the OEP public appointment timescales.

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