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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has taken recent steps to strengthen the Environment Agency's due diligence processes for (a) awarding and (b) transferring environmental permits.

Guidance on due diligence checks for a) awarding and b) transferring environmental permits under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 are set out in the legal and operator competence guidance and the relevant convictions guidance published on GOV.UK. The legal and operator competence guidance was last updated in 2019 (/www.gov.uk/guidance/legal-operator-and-competence-requirements-environmental-permits) and the relevant convictions guidance in July 2023 (www.gov.uk/government/publications/relevant-conviction-guidance-for-permit-applications-for-waste-activities-and-installations-only).

Defra works closely with the Environment Agency to monitor its performance and ensure it enforces environmental protection laws and delivers for the public.

Defra also continuously evaluates the effectiveness of the environmental permitting framework in upholding environmental and human health protections. The most recent Post Implementation Review published in June last year (www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/1154/pdfs/uksiod_20161154_en_003.pdf) found that the regulations appeared to be functioning effectively.