Ellie Chowns

A range of guidance is available to civil servants when preparing legislation, including on section 19 of the Environment Act 2021.

Ahead of the duty coming into force on 1 November 2023, guidance was issued to civil servants working on legislation. In January 2024, the Guide to Preparing Explanatory Memoranda (EMs) to Statutory Instruments was published and included information on this duty. The next update to The Guide to Making Legislation, which will be published shortly, will include guidance on the policy statement.

Each Government department is responsible for its own ministerial submission templates and guidance. Departments have been advised to amend their submission templates to reflect the EPPS duty through the Defra-led Environmental Principles Working Group.

Ministers may seek collective agreement from the Cabinet or its committees through correspondence, or the ‘write round process’. It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, including through correspondence, is not normally shared publicly.

In May 2024, the Department for Business & Trade published revised guidance, Producing post-implementation reviews: principles of best practice, which provides advice on the consideration of environmental impacts and specifies that departments should have due regard to the environmental principles policy statement when completing a post-implementation review of legislation.

It is mandatory for government departments to make proportionate use of the Green Book, and its supplementary business case guidance, when they develop spending proposals. Where the EPPS duty applies, it is relevant for appraisals that are conducted in line with the Green Book. This is made clear on the Green Book webpage and will be reflected in the Green Book when the document is next updated.

The list of significant public appointments is updated by the Cabinet Office, in consultation with individual departments and the Commissioner for Public Appointments. A refreshed list will be updated in due course.

As set out by the previous government, the role of Chair of the Office for Environmental Protection is considered to be a significant appointment.

The Government has no plans to establish a citizens’ assembly to consider the future relationship between the UK and EU. We fully recognise the importance of maintaining an effective dialogue encompassing a broad range of views across civil society, including through the TCA Civil Society Forum and Domestic Advisory Group, as we work to reset our relationship with the EU.

The responsible business conduct review is a neutral, objective appraisal of policy. It will consider the effectiveness of the UK’s current regime and alternative measures to support responsible business practices across UK and global supply chains, including human rights and environmental considerations.

As part of the review the UK Government is harnessing the insights and expertise of businesses, investors, trade unions, academia, civil society and our international trading partners. The Office for Responsible Business Conduct will continue to engage regularly with stakeholders, including those with lived experience.

In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review into the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct, focused on tackling human rights and labour abuses and environmental harms in global supply chains.

The Government is progressing the review at pace while ensuring that we harness the insight of a range of stakeholders, including businesses, investors, trade unions, academia, civil society, affected communities, and our international trading partners. We will continue to provide regular updates as we progress the review.

Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provides an independent means for companies to resolve disputes with states where investors believe they have experienced arbitrary, discriminatory or unfair treatment or expropriation without compensation. The UK will work with partners multilaterally, such as the OECD and UN, to pursue opportunities to improve ISDS practice.

With regard to the case in question, the Government has acted consistently with domestic and international law obligations, but in view of the ongoing proceedings, we have no further comment to make at this stage.

Although there are no such significant direct impacts, the UK raised the issue of oil and gas developments with New Zealand on several occasions, including following New Zealand's Budget 2025 announcements after the Environment and Climate Change Sub-Committee meeting in May 2025. The Department continues to keep this matter under review, working closely with colleagues at the British High Commission Wellington.

The Fair Work Agency will deliver a much-needed upgrade to the enforcement of workers’ rights. It will ensure better enforcement of rights at work for all workers, including young women.

The Agency will work closely with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, including to share information relevant to the Commission’s role. We have provided for that by including the Commission in the list of bodies that the Fair Work Agency can share information with, at Schedule 9 of the Bill.

The Department for Business and Trade has engaged with the Corporate Justice Coalition on the petition entitled Introduction of a business, human rights and environment act, submitted on 19 June 2025.

In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review into the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct, focused on tackling human rights and labour abuses, modern slavery, and environmental harms in global supply chains.

The review will be a neutral, objective appraisal of policy, led by officials at the Department for Business and Trade. It will consider the effectiveness of the UK’s current regime and alternative means of supporting responsible business practices. It will have due regard to costs on business and the approaches taken by our trading partners. Throughout the review, we will harness the insights and expertise of businesses, investors, trade unions, academia and civil society.

The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. There are clear risks related to economic and financial activities in the settlements, and we do not encourage or offer support to such activity. The overseas business risk guidance, available on gov.uk, provides information for UK operators.

We respect the independence of the International Court of Justice, and we are carefully considering the Court’s advisory opinion.

In the Trade Strategy, the Government committed to promoting a coordinated approach to responsible business conduct. The Government’s review into responsible business conduct, focused on tackling human rights and labour abuses, modern slavery, and environmental harms in global supply chains, will consider the best way to give effect to this commitment.

In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review into the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct, focused on tackling human rights and labour abuses, modern slavery, and environmental harms in global supply chains.

The review will be a neutral, objective appraisal of policy, led by officials in my department. It will consider the effectiveness of the UK’s current regime and alternative means of supporting responsible business practices. It will have due regard to costs on business and the approaches taken by our trading partners. Throughout the review, we will harness the insights and expertise of businesses, investors, trade unions, academia and civil society.

We have also established the Office for Responsible Business Conduct (RBC), to replace the UK's National Contact Point. This enhanced office will support industry to integrate responsible business practices and help victims of corporate malpractice through continuing to operate a non-judicial complaints mechanism for alleged violations of the OECD Guidelines on RBC.

Following the closure of the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) investigation into certain claims made by Unilever in relation to some of its fast-moving consumer goods, which include everyday items such as toiletries and cleaning products, the CMA does not currently have any open investigations into misleading environmental claims.

The CMA remains interested in the issue and may take further enforcement action where this is warranted and appropriate, based on intelligence and its published prioritisation criteria.

In January 2023 the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) announced a compliance review into the Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector – these include essential everyday items such as toiletries and cleaning products. Over the period following that announcement, the CMA carried out an initial review of hundreds of products.

Following its compliance review into environmental claims, in December 2023 the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) opened an investigation into certain claims made by Unilever in relation to some of its fast-moving consumer goods, which include everyday items such as toiletries and cleaning products.

In November 2024 the CMA announced its decision to close the investigation. In making this decision, the CMA took into account a range of factors, including changes Unilever had made to claims on some of its products and the wider impact of the CMA’s programme of work tackling misleading green claims.

The Department for Business and Trade published the UK's Strategic Approach for the UK-Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement ahead of launching negotiations. The Strategic Approach was based on public consultation with stakeholders and has informed the approach to negotiations since launch.

Economic growth is the priority of this government and drives our trade agenda. The objectives of our Free Trade Agreement programme support delivery of this government's growth priorities.

The government will continue to update parliament as negotiations progress and will publish further information on the GCC Free Trade Agreement following the conclusion of negotiations.

The UK is a global leader on climate action, and we have been discussing a range of environment and climate issues with GCC partners under the trade agreement negotiations.

The UK - GCC Strategic Approach published on 22^nd June 2022 on GOV.UK contains a chapter that covers the potential environmental impacts of the deal.

I refer the Hon. Member for North Herefordshire to my response to Question 12968 on 12^th November 2024.

Consistent with section 19(1) of the Environment Act 2021, the new template for regulatory impact assessments, published under the reformed Better Regulation Framework, states, “All policies, where relevant, must have due regard to the Environmental Principles Policy Statement, and demonstrate how the policy will affect the achievement of the legally binding Environment Targets set out in the Environment Act.”

The UK Internal Market Act provides the practical framework that facilitates businesses and people to trade and purchase goods and services freely across the UK. It supports economic growth and protects jobs and investment across all four nations of the UK. The Act does not prevent the UK Government or Devolved Governments from legislating in any areas of reserved or devolved policy, including environmental policy.

This government is committed to protecting and improving the rights of tenants through improving the quality of their homes, resulting in reduced energy costs.

We have engaged and consulted with landlord and tenant representative groups in developing policy. We set out proposals in the consultation on maximum spend from landlords and the exemptions regime. These changes do not require landlords to increase rents.

The new Renters’ Rights Bill will introduce protections for tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases and stop landlords using large rent increases to force tenants out. Landlords will be able to increase rents to market rates once per year, with tenants able to challenge this at the Tribunal if it is unreasonable.

The Government has committed £5 billion funding as financial transactions. We will work with the UK’s expert public finance institutions, including the NWF (National Wealth Fund), to agree ways to support the delivery of the Warm Homes Plan through this. Further details will be confirmed by October.

Embracing the opportunities that AI can provide to drive growth and productivity in the economy is a government objective. Building the low carbon economy of the future will lead to significant increases in electricity demand across many sectors. These projected increases were a key part of the analysis that underpinned the department’s Clean Power Action Plan, consistent with our net zero targets. This set out how, by unlocking new low carbon electricity generation, improving access to the electricity grid and efficient use and operation of the energy system - which can be supported by new technologies such as AI - we will achieve Clean Power by 2030 and maintain secure, resilient energy supplies.

The Government believes that heat networks are an essential part of a decarbonised future energy system. In high density urban areas, they are often the lowest cost, low carbon heating option, and can use a range of low carbon energy sources such as waste heat from industry. This helps to reduce costs for consumers and strengthens the Uk’s energy resilience.

The Committee for Climate Change has recommended the government grows the heat network sector from providing 3% of national heat demand to 20% by 2050. We are implementing heat network zoning and funding low carbon heat networks to get to this scale.

Planning decisions in Brazil are a matter for the Brazilian government.

Brazil has commitment to achieve zero deforestation by 2030 and we welcome the focus on forests set out by the incoming COP30 President in his letter of 10 March. We will continue to work closely with the COP President and others to drive forward efforts to halt and reverse deforestation globally by 2030, and to support their preparations for the important COP30 conference in Belem.

We have noted the changes bp is making to its strategy. Such decisions are a commercial matter for the company.

The Government is unable to assess the potential future impact of the new strategy on the UK as it relates to the company’s global business rather than being focused on activities in this country. However we welcome the significant investment bp is continuing to plan to make in low carbon projects in the UK, including in the East Coast Cluster.

Existing regulation of emissions from bp’s activities in the UK remain unchanged.

The Department has made no such assessment.