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

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect that the Office for Environmental Protection will be fully operational; and what its budget allocation will be from 1 January 2021.

The Government still intends to bring the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) into operation in 2021, but due to the pause in the Environment Bill’s passage and the wider context of Covid-19, we cannot yet confirm exactly when the OEP will start. We will implement transitional arrangements, with a secretariat to support the OEP chair currently being sought in a public appointment campaign. This will be in place from the start of next year until the OEP can begin its statutory functions.

Defra will agree with HM Treasury a budget that will be ring-fenced for each spending review period, giving the OEP greater certainty over its finances. The budget will be announced as soon as possible after the Environment Bill achieves Royal Assent.