Green groups post formal complaint on government failure to meet Environment Act deadline

An extensive consortium of environmental groups have filed a complaint to the Office for Environmental Protection relating to the government’s breach of its legal duty to lay the draft statutory instrument(s) on Environment Act targets in Parliament before the statutory deadline of 31 October 2022.

Wildlife & Countryside Link, Greener UK and the Healthy Air Coalition have acted after being left unsatisfied by Defra’s 24 November response to a complaint sent by the groups to the department. They said Defra had not provided a specific timescale for the targets, which include statutory water targets, as requested, and that their call for an independent review of why the statutory deadline was missed had been dismissed.

In addition, the groups which represent 36 nature and health organisations, told the OEP they were concerned by other things including that Defra had not recognised the government had broken the law; that the delay would impact the statutory deadline to publish the Environmental Improvement Plan by 31 January 2023; that delays might become “the default departmental culture;” and that Defra’s focus on deliverability may affect the level of ambition of the targets package.