Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that environmental health standards in the United Kingdom are maintained after the UK’s departure from the EU.

We are committed to delivering a Green Brexit and to enhancing our environmental standards.

The European Union (Withdrawal Bill) will make sure that the whole body of existing EU environmental law continues to have effect in UK law, providing businesses and stakeholders with maximum certainty as we leave the EU. We will also continue to uphold our international obligations through our multilateral environmental agreements.

On 12 November the Secretary of State set out plans to consult on a new, independent and statutory body to hold government and potentially public authorities to account on environmental commitments once we have left the European Union. We are also proposing to consult on the creation of a new policy statement on environmental principles to apply after we leave the EU. This statement will underpin future policy-making.