DAERA sought views on a number of environmental governance issues through a discussion document that was open for consultation from 10 December 2020 until 26 February 2021.
DAERA officials developed a range of Northern Ireland provisions for the Environment Bill with colleagues in the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The commencement of provisions relating to environmental plans, principles and governance is subject to decisions by Ministers and the approval of the Assembly.
The Environment Bill was introduced to Parliament on 30 January 2020 and sets out the options for Ministers to:
- prepare and publish environmental improvement plans;
- embed environmental principles into policy decisions of NI Departments; and
- extend an Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) to Northern Ireland.
Any queries regarding this report should be directed to: environment.bill@daera-ni.gov.uk
A Synopsis of Responses has been prepared and can be viewed below:
Synopsis of Responses