July 21st Update. This was carried first in Marine News on Tuesday July 19th – the updates including Junior Ministers are in dark blue
Farm payments a major priority In line with other May appointments as a leading Brexiter, Leadsom now has responsibility for devising a payment mechanism for farmers to replace EU subsidies! In austerity Britain that might be what is called a poisoned chalice.
Leadsom does understand climate change Although her quote about asking whether Climate Change was real when she started at DECC has been much quoted since her appointment, rather more to the point was her speech at the start of her leadership campaign a few weeks ago which firmly set out UK’s commitments to climate change. Amber Rudd, now Home Secretary, was also very clear about her support for climate change measures.
Junior Ministers at Defra Floods and Waste Rory Stewart – is replaced by Therese Coffey; a pity; Stewart was bright he also held the brief for flood management. George Eustace retains his place; his infamous quote … ‘Brexit would free UK from ‘spirit-crushing’ green directives, says minister. Farming minister George Eustice says leave vote would free up £2bn now spent on insurance schemes and incentives for farmers’
25 year plans? These very strange commitments now look rather exposed. Defra had already signalled to the waste industry that the environment plan was being postponed but given the whole sale links of farming to land and environmental management it looks likely that other priorities might now take precedence. Opposition parties have issued a joint statement challenging the new Prime Minister and Environment Secretary to deliver a manifesto commitment to our natural environment, and ensure it does not get worse in post-Brexit Britain. Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, Labour’s Shadow Environment Spokesperson Rachael Maskell and Green Party MP Caroline Lucas issued the statement in response to a new Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) report which highlights the value of nature to our economy.
Now George Osborne has gone it will be interesting to see whether Dieter Helm and his Natural Capital Committee have such a prominent role.
DECC Gone The Department for Energy and Climate Change has now gone, being subsumed into the new Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy lad by Greg Clark.
- James Murray’s blog in BusinessGreen is informative and balanced setting out DECC’s achievements and the next challenges.
- There is a great deal of speculation about the message this sends re climate change.
- Will the Parliamentary Committee that scrutinised DECC continue?
- Who and how junior ministers cover the various sectors will be interesting.
Oliver Letwin David Cameron’s – Mr Fixit – Oliver Letwin has also gone. He famously forgot to publish a report on the 2012 floods; publication has been postpone to ‘late summer’. Flood Report watchers should now keep an eagle on whether the Flooding Resilience report post the winter floods this year will see the light of day.
Bob Earll July 20th
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