Office for Environmental Protection: Finance

(asked on 8th July 2021) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason the ring-fenced budget for the Office for Environmental Protection has been reduced from five to three years; when that decision was made; and for what reason that decision was not communicated to Parliament.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 16th July 2021

The Government is committed to establishing the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) as soon as possible after Royal Assent with sufficient funding to fulfil its statutory advice, scrutiny, and enforcement functions. The intention, subject to finalising parliamentary passage, is to provide the OEP with a five year indicative budget, with a ringfenced budget for each spending review period. Defra has agreed this approach with HM Treasury to give the OEP the greatest possible certainty over its finances for the coming years. The OEP will then be required to report annually on whether it has sufficient funding to carry out its functions, and we will share this information with Parliament. Defra have discussed this approach with the OEP who welcome this commitment.

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