Brexit: Environmental Standards

Baroness Parminter Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Willoughby de Broke (UKIP)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Parminter (LD)]

My Lords—

[Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

As I say, because of the construction of our environmental protections which are part through domestic law and part through our EU law requirements, all of it is coming back so that it will be exactly the same continuum of laws relating to environmental protection. That is the whole point of the great repeal Bill, so there is certainty for the consumer, the producer and business.

[Baroness Parminter]

My Lords, the Minister referred to an upcoming consultation on the 25-year environment plan. Some matters that are not open for consultation are matters of principle. One of the principles in Europe has been that environmental protection has been maintained by the precautionary principle. Will the Minister guarantee that this Government will uphold the precautionary principle?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, as I have said, we wish and intend to leave the environment in a better position than the one we have inherited. That surely means that we will want a situation where we are advancing our protections rather than not.