European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Debate between Lord Smith of Finsbury and Lord Framlingham

3rd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Wednesday 16th May 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Smith of Finsbury (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I support the amendment moved by the noble Lord, Lord Krebs. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Framlingham, that the irreparable damage that may be done is damage to our environment and our health if we lose the safeguards and protections that we have for our environment.

[Lord Framlingham]

Will the noble Lord—

[Lord Smith of Finsbury]

No, I will not. I am sorry. The crucial part of the amendment is subsection (4), which talks about,

“an independent body with the purpose of ensuring compliance with environmental law by public authorities”.

When I was chairman of the Environment Agency, action was taken on some of the major issues affecting our environment—such as the fact that we discharge raw sewage into the River Thames 20 times or more a year, and the lethal levels of air pollution in our cities—only because of the prospect of infraction proceedings from the EU. If we lose that lever, we lose the ability to tackle these major environmental issues. It is essential that we insist—not just as part of the consultation but now—that the powers of the new environmental watchdog include the ability to take that sort of legal action.