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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer from Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 19 October (HL8726), whether the interim Office of Environmental Protection will have the resources to begin to investigate complaints prior to the granting of formal powers to do so when it is established in law.

Members of the public will be able to submit complaints about alleged failures of public authorities to comply with environmental law to Defra's interim environmental governance secretariat from the start of next year until the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) begins its statutory functions. The secretariat will assess complaints received against the criteria specified in the Environment Bill to determine if they will fall within the remit of possible investigation by the OEP.

The secretariat will have the resources to conduct these processes, interacting with the complainants and public authorities in question to gather further information where needed. It will assess the information received and pass it on to the OEP once established, so that the OEP can determine which complaints to consider further through the exercise of its legal functions including formal investigations and, where necessary, enforcement.