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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for the UK's environmental governance of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

The EU (Withdrawal) Act will ensure existing EU environmental law continues to have effect in UK law after the UK leaves the EU.

The Government has committed to the creation of a new body to hold the Government to account on its compliance with environmental law. We will work to ensure that the new body is in place as soon as possible in a no deal scenario with the necessary powers to review and if necessary, take enforcement action in respect of breaches of environmental law from when the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union has ended in a no deal scenario, from 23:00 on 29 March 2019 onwards. This will mean that the Government will be held accountable as under existing EU law from the day we leave the EU. Any further interim measures that may be necessary under a no deal scenario before the new body is established will be brought forward in due course.