23 March 2022 - Work of the Office for Environmental Protection - Oral evidence

The Environmental Audit Committee will be discussing the work of the newly-formed Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) with its Chair and Chief Executive, two months after the new body received its statutory powers under the Environment Act 2021.

The session comes as the consultation period on the new body’s draft strategy and its draft enforcement policy draws to a close.

Among the issues likely to be discussed on Wednesday are:

• How the OEP is setting about its principal functions—environmental protection and the improvement of the natural environment;
• Ensuring the OEP’s institutional and operational independence;
• What approach the OEP is taking to handling complaints and enforcing and upholding environmental law;
• Cooperation between the OEP and other bodies, for example the Climate Change Committee