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 impact of (a) revoking or (b) amending his Department’s pieces of retained EU law on the maintenance of the UK’s environmental standards; and if he will make a statement.

Defra is in the process of analysing its REUL stock and determining what should be preserved as part of domestic law, as well as REUL that should be repealed, or amended. This work will determine how we use the powers in the Bill and therefore inform assessments of the Bill’s impact, including in relation to environmental protections.

The United Kingdom is a world leader in environmental protection and HM Government has clear environmental and climate goals, such as those set out in the Environment Act, the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Net Zero Strategy respectively. We are committed to delivering our legally binding target to halt nature’s decline by 2030. In reviewing our retained EU law, we want to ensure that environmental law is fit for purpose for the United Kingdom’s unique environment and able to drive improved environmental outcomes, whilst ensuring regulators can deliver efficiently. Any changes to environmental regulations will be driven with those goals in mind.