Consultation response

We have responded to a consultation from the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) regarding its revised strategy and enforcement policy. We commend the OEP for its evidence-led oversight and the valuable work it has been doing to hold the government and public authorities to account.

In our response, we recommend that the OEP should:

• Maintain its independence while actively engaging with and listening to stakeholders.
• Work with public authorities to improve their systems for managing complaints about potential breaches of environmental law.
• Consider contingency measures to address potential political disruptions in Northern Ireland
• Review the duty of public authorities to co-operate with the OEP to ensure it works as intended and to incorporate learnings into the post-legislative scrutiny of the Environment Act 2021.