The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) is a regulatory body for environmental protection in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

"to provide independent oversight of the government's environmental progress". It will be created as a statutory body by the Environment Bill. As of July 2021 it exists as an interim body. The first chair is

Glenys Stacey Dame Glenys Jean Stacey DBE (''née'' McBride; born 1954) is a solicitor and civil servant serving as chair of the Office for Environmental Protection from February 2021. She was Chief Executive and Chief Regulator of Ofqual, acting in the post ...

, who has called delays in the passage of the bill "extremely disappointing". Its first chief executive is Natalie Prosser and its headquarters are in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

. Concerns have been raised about potential lack of powers, independence, funding and about

freedom of information Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, indigeno ...

. The OEP is intended to replace the environmental protection functions of the EU, but a report by the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law expressed concerns that the bill as of June 2021 would provide no equivalent legal remedy for breaches. The OEP was given an environmental governance role in Northern Ireland in February 2022.

References

Conservation in England Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government {{UK-gov-stub

See also

References