This is a repository copy of Parliamentary debates, Public Bill Committee (Environment Bill 2020). White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/158424/ Monograph: Lewis, Alastair orcid.org/0000-0002-4075-3651 (2020) Parliamentary debates, Public Bill Committee (Environment Bill 2020). Report. House of Commons Official Report; General Committees . Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT GENERAL COMMITTEES Public Bill Committee ENVIRONMENT BILL First Sitting Tuesday 10 March 2020 (Morning) CONTENTS Programme motion agreed to. Motion to sit in private agreed to. Written evidence (Reporting to the House) motion agreed to. Examination of witnesses. Adjourned till this day at Two o’clock. PBC (Bill 009) 2019 - 2021 No proofs can be supplied. Corrections that Members suggest for the final version of the report should be clearly marked in a copy of the report—not telephoned—and must be received in the Editor’s Room, House of Commons, not later than Saturday 14 March 2020 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2020 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1 Public Bill Committee 10 MARCH 2020 Environment Bill 2 The Committee consisted of the following Members: Chairs: †SIR ROGER GALE,SIR GEORGE HOWARTH † Afolami, Bim (Hitchin and Harpenden) (Con) † Morden, Jessica (Newport East) (Lab) † Ansell, Caroline (Eastbourne) (Con) † Oppong-Asare, Abena (Erith and Thamesmead) † Bhatti, Saqib (Meriden) (Con) (Lab) † Brock, Deidre (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP) † Pow, Rebecca (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of † Docherty, Leo (Aldershot) (Con) State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) † Sobel, Alex (Leeds North West) (Lab/Co-op) † Edwards, Ruth (Rushcliffe) (Con) Thomson, Richard (Gordon) (SNP) † Graham, Richard (Gloucester) (Con) † Whitehead, Dr Alan (Southampton, Test) (Lab) † Longhi, Marco (Dudley North) (Con) † McCarthy, Kerry (Bristol East) (Lab) Adam Mellows-Facer, Anwen Rees, Committee Clerks † Mackrory, Cherilyn (Truro and Falmouth) (Con) † Moore, Robbie (Keighley) (Con) † attended the Committee Witnesses Signe Norberg, Public Affairs Manager, Aldersgate Group Edward Lockhart-Mummery, Project Convenor and Principal Investigator, Broadway Initiative Martin Baxter, Chief Policy Adviser, Broadway Initiative David Bellamy, Senior Environment Policy Manager, Food and Drink Federation Andrew Poole, Deputy Head of Policy, Federation of Small Businesses Martin Curtois, External Affairs Director, Veolia 3 Public Bill Committee HOUSE OF COMMONS Environment Bill 4 Public Bill Committee Table Date Time Witness Tuesday 10 March 2020 Thursday 12 March Until no later Asthma UK and than 12.15 pm British Lung Morning Foundation; UNICEF; Air Quality Expert [SIR ROGER GALE in the Chair] Group; ClientEarth Thursday 12 March Until no later Water UK; Blueprint Environment Bill than 1.00 pm for Water; Marine Conservation Society 9.25 am Thursday 12 March Until no later George Monbiot; The Chair: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. than 2.45 pm Wildlife and Ordinarily, the public would be invited in for the initial Environment Link brief announcement and then have to go out again, so Thursday 12 March Until no later Keep Britain Tidy; we thought we would save them the effort. There are a than 3.15 pm Green Alliance couple of preliminary points. Please turn off your mobile Thursday 12 March Until no later Chem Trust; phones. I have a tendency to send Members to the than 4.00 pm Chemical Industries Tower if they allow their phones to ring. I am checking Association; Unite my own, as well. I am afraid that tea and coffee are not Thursday 12 March Until no later Scottish allowed, so those who want a tea or a coffee will have to than 5.00 pm Environment LINK; go outside to have it. Environmental Protection Scotland; We will consider the programme motion and the Law Society motion on reporting written evidence for publication Scotland and then have a quick chat in private. It is easier than yanking people in and chucking them out again. We (3) proceedings on consideration of the Bill in Committee will try to take the motions without too much debate. shall be taken in the following order: Clauses 1 to 21; Schedule 1; Ordered, Clauses 22 to 45; Schedule 2; Clause 46; Schedule 3; Clause 47; Schedule 4; Clause 48; Schedule 5; Clause 49; Schedule 6; That— Clause 50; Schedule 7; Clause 51; Schedule 8; Clause 52; (1) the Committee shall (in addition to its first meeting at Schedule 9; Clauses 53 to 63; Schedule 10; Clauses 64 to 69; 9.25am on Tuesday 10 March) meet— Schedule 11; Clause 70; Schedule 12; Clauses 71 to 78; (a) at 2.00pm on Tuesday 10 March; Schedule 13; Clauses 79 to 90; Schedule 14; Clauses 91 to 100; (b) at 11.30am and 2.00pm on Thursday 12 March; Schedule 15; Clauses 101 to 115; Schedule 16; Clauses 116 to 122; (c) at 9.25am and 2.00pm on Tuesday 17 March; Schedule 17; Clauses 123 and 124; Schedule 18; Clause 125; (d) at 11.30am and 2.00pm on Thursday 19 March; Schedule 19; Clauses 126 to 133; new Clauses; new Schedules; (e) at 9.25am and 2.00pm on Tuesday 24 March; remaining proceedings on the Bill; (f) at 11.30am and 2.00pm on Thursday 26 March; (4) the proceedings shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion at 5.00 pm on Tuesday 5 May.—(Leo (g) at 9.25am and 2.00pm on Tuesday 31 March; Docherty.) (h) at 4.00pm and 7.00pm on Tuesday 21 April; (i) at 11.30am and 2.00pm on Thursday 23 April; Resolved, (j) at 9.25am and 2.00pm on Tuesday 28 April; That, at this and any subsequent meeting at which oral evidence is to be heard, the Committee shall sit in private until the (k) at 11.30am and 2.00pm on Thursday 30 April; witnesses are admitted.—(Leo Docherty.) (l) at 9.25am and 2.00pm on Tuesday 5 May; (2) the Committee shall hear oral evidence in accordance with The Chair: Written evidence will be made available in the following Table: the Committee Room. I take it that the Committee is Table happy to receive it. Resolved, Date Time Witness That, subject to the discretion of the Chair, any written evidence Tuesday 10 March Until no later Aldersgate Group; received by the Committee shall be reported to the House for than 10.30 am Broadway Initiative publication.—(Leo Docherty.) Tuesday 10 March Until no later Food and Drink 9.27 am than 11.25 am Federation; Federation of Small The Committee deliberated in private. Businesses; Veolia Tuesday 10 March Until no later Local Government Examination of Witnesses than 2.30 pm Association Signe Norberg, Edward Lockhart-Mummery and Martin Tuesday 10 March Until no later Natural England; Baxter gave evidence. than 3.30 pm Wildlife Trusts; Country Land and 9.30 am Business The Chair: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Association; NFU Thank you for joining us. We shall now hear oral Tuesday 10 March Until no later National Federation evidence from the Aldersgate Group and the Broadway than 4.00 pm of Builders Initiative. Before we start, I would be grateful if you Tuesday 10 March Until no later Greener UK; would be kind enough to identify yourselves for the than 5.00 pm Greenpeace; Royal benefit of the record. Society for the Protection of Birds Signe Norberg: I am Signe Norberg. I am the public affairs manager at Aldersgate Group. 5 Public Bill Committee 10 MARCH 2020 Environment Bill 6 Edward Lockhart-Mummery: I am Edward Lockhart- that independence in a clearcut way? Along with the Mummery, convener of the Broadway Initiative. OEP’s potential independence, would you like to see Martin Baxter: I am Martin Baxter, chief policy something specific in the Bill that protects its remit and adviser at the Institute of Environmental Management funding cycle so we can be assured that it will not be and Assessment. We are home to the Broadway Initiative. subject to the vicissitudes of the Department or the Exchequer? The Chair: Thank you—and thank you for giving Signe Norberg: With regards to the specific areas of your time this morning. We have limited time, as you are the Bill, there could be strengthening amendments to aware, before I will have to draw the sitting to a close. schedule 1, which sets out the appointment process. A Concise answers—I have already urged my colleagues paragraph in there to specify the role of the Select to ask concise questions—will help us to get through Committee in appointing the chair would strengthen the business. the Bill, because the OEP’s chair has the power to select the other members. Within that, there is also a funding Q1 Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test) (Lab): section, which could establish the five-year process. The Good morning. I would like to start with some thoughts important thing is that the OEP, with its formidable about the Office for Environmental Protection.