Environment Bill Delayed Until Next Parliamentary Session

UK Ministers have announced the decision to postpone Parliamentary scrutiny of the ‘flagship’ Environment Bill until the next Parliamentary session.

The decision was taken as the Covid-19 pandemic has left little time for scrutiny in Parliamentary timetables.

There was significant concern about the delay with environmental organisations warning it will make it harder for the government to hit targets to improve water, reduce waste and protect wildlife. This will also delay the formation of a full Office of Environmental Protection until much later this year.

Environment Minister, Rebecca Pow, said “carrying over the bill to the next session does not diminish our ambition for our environment in any way” and “key work on implementing the Bill’s  measures will continue at pace, including establishing the Office for Environmental Protection, setting long-term legally-binding targets for environmental protection and creating a new Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers.”