Lord Gardiner was quizzed in the Lords:

Defra’s minister in the House of Lords, Lord Gardiner of Kimble, has confirmed that “a full and proper consultation” will take place early this year on the powers which a new post-Brexit environmental enforcement agency will hold.

It was also suggested that the enforcement agency could be in place before the UK leaves the European Union. Lord Gardiner was asked by Baroness Jones (Green Party) in a House of Lords meeting yesterday afternoon (8 January 2018) if the government intends to make the consultation process public, and if the agency could be operational prior to the March 2019 leaving date.

Lord Gardiner: “We want to have detailed consideration with stakeholders and your Lordships so that we get the right decision because we recognise that something needs to be done to fill what we acknowledge is a governance gap. I am not sure about the precise timings, but the whole purpose of an early consultation is so that we can move this forward,” the minister said in the meeting.

Baroness Jones referred to the new body as an “Environmental Enforcement Agency”, and sought answers as to when it would be established. Lord Gardiner referred to it as an “independent and statutory body” throughout the meeting.

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