The Welsh Government convened an event in Cardiff on 10 March 2020 to consider the report of a Stakeholder Task Group on this issue. No final decisions have been taken on the form of any legislation which may be needed to enact the Task Group’s recommendations, and the application of the details would be subject to further consultation and the legislative process. However, that Group seems minded to recommend a framework which is much closer to meeting to concerns of the committees of both the National Assembly for Wales and the UK House of Commons in reports on earlier drafts of the governance proposals.

The Group would retain an overall statutory expression of ambition for the environment in Wales. It would incorporate the precautionary principle, the prevention principle, the rectification principle and the polluter pays principle, without these being subject to further interpretation on a Policy Statement written by the Secretary of State. The Commission for the Environment would be properly independent, with its appointments and funding protected by the Senedd. In many important respects, legislation which applied these recommendations would be a significant improvement on the current draft of Part I of the UK Environment Bill

For further information on our reading of this and other Brexit issues and environmental legislation, please contact William Wilson on +44(0)1225-730-407 or email <info@wyesideconsulting.com>