Natural England - Natural England welcomes greater flexibility in upholding environmental regulations
Natural England welcomes greater flexibility in upholding environmental regulations
3 February 2010
Natural England welcomed today’s announcement by Defra of changes that will allow it to tackle breaches of environmental regulation in a more flexible manner than it has been able to do under existing legislation.
Natural England has enforcement responsibilities in a number of areas, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest, heather and grass burning, breaches of certain wildlife licences, breaches of the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) Regulations, and damage caused by injurious weeds.
To date, the only sanctions available to Natural England to tackle breaches of the regulations in these areas were either to issue warning letters, cautions or to proceed to full criminal prosecution.
Under the changes being announced today, Natural England has been granted a wider range of enforcement powers to help “fill the gap” between these two sanctions. By providing an alternative to prosecution these changes will enable regulators to match the strength of sanctions to the gravity of the offence, and to better reflect the fact that most breaches of environmental law are unintentional.
The new enforcement powers mean that in the future, Natural England will be authorised to halt illegal activities, to order the restoration of environmental damage and to impose fines where legislation has been breached. The Environment Agency has also given a broader range of enforcement powers in the areas of environmental regulation that it looks after.
Dr Tim Hill, Natural England’s Director of Regulation and Access, said: “We welcome the greater levels of flexibility these changes will provide which will help remove some of the difficulties regulators have faced in responding to breaches of environmental regulations. We have no interest in acting disproportionately against minor infringement; nor is it right that no action is taken against offences because there has not been the appropriate level of sanction to deal with them. These changes will help ensure that we can fine-tune the actions needed to protect the environment without imposing unnecessary burdens on those we regulate, the vast majority of whom seek to abide by the law.”
Before the new sanctions can be used, Natural England will undertake a three-month consultation on policy and guidance. Details of the consultation will be announced in due course.
Dr Hill concluded: “These powers recognise our consistent, proportionate and accountable approach to regulation, for which we were commended in the Hampton review. We will work hard to uphold these principles in protecting and enhancing the natural environment and look forward to a wide-ranging consultation to take account of as wide a range of views as possible.”
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Notes to editors:
Subject to debate in Parliament, these powers will be made available to the Environment Agency and Natural England for certain offences through secondary legislation, (The Environmental Civil Sanctions (England) Order 2010 and The Environmental Sanctions (Misc. Amendments) (England) Regulations 2010). The legislation will be laid before Parliament shortly.
Natural England has direct enforcement responsibilities for Sites of Special Scientific Interest, heather and grass burning, breaches of wildlife licences and notices that it issues, breaches of the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) Regulations, and injurious weeds.
Natural England has been granted the sanctions after a favourable review in March 2009 by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The review team looked at how regulators were implementing enforcement principles outlined in a report by Sir Philip Hampton in 2005. It found that “Natural England demonstrated good compliance with the Hampton criteria in many areas, and had made good steps recently to strengthen their regulatory performance which are now bearing fruit”. This led to the Business Minister recommending that Natural England be awarded the new powers.
A 12 week public consultation by Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government on the proposed use of civil sanctions for environmental offences closed on 14 October 2009. Respondents gave overall support to the proposals. View a summary of respondents’ views and the Government’s response and the Government guidance to regulators on use of civil sanctions.
View Natural England’s enforcement policy.
About Natural England
Natural England is the government’s independent advisor on the natural environment. Established in 2006 our work is focused on enhancing England’s wildlife and landscapes and maximising the benefits they bring to the public.
We establish and care for England’s main wildlife and geological sites, ensuring that over 4,000 National Nature Reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest are looked after and improved.
We work to ensure that England’s landscapes are effectively protected, designating England’s National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Marine Conservation Zones, and advising widely on their conservation.
We run England’s Environmental Stewardship green farming schemes that deliver over £400 million a year to farmers and landowners, enabling them to enhance the natural environment across two thirds of England’s farmland.
We fund, manage, and provide scientific expertise for hundreds of conservation projects each year, improving the prospects for thousands of England’s species and habitats.
We promote access to the wider countryside, helping establish National Trails and coastal trails and ensuring that the public can enjoy and benefit from them.
For further information contact:
The National Press Office on 0845 603 9953, press@naturalengland.org.uk, out of hours 07970 098005.