Government "taking steps" on green law review backlog

The government said it is “taking steps to clear the backlog of overdue Post Implementation Reviews (PIRs) it is responsible for by the end of 2024, and to meet future review requirements,” as it responded last week to the Office for Environmental Protection’s report on environmental law PIRs.

Defra listed among these steps: a prioritisation process; creating action plans with timetables; using external legal support to provide assurance; and new governance processes including regular monitoring and reporting to the permanent secretary and Defra’s Executive Committee on progress.

In the short response, Defra said: “Defra is committed to delivering high standards for environmental protection and meeting our legal duties in respect of post-implementation reviews (PIRs). After prioritising resources to deliver a successful EU exit and supporting the country’s response during the pandemic, we recognise that we have not yet met all our obligations to deliver PIRs. We are working to continually improve our mechanisms for capturing, tracking and delivering these statutory requirements.”