Environment Compliance

Overview

In the pre-Brexit regime, environmental compliance in the whole UK was monitored at the European level. It was the European Commission which used to monitor the EU environmental law such as rules on air quality, biodiversity and ecosystem resilience, land and soil, water and resources use, climate change and population, human health and cultural heritage. The practice involved sanction in the event of failure to comply with the environmental laws and it could lead to infringement proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union which had the powers to interpret EU law and require governments to take corrective measures. 

Impact of Brexit

Following Brexit, this regime was no longer in place and to address the resulting governance void, new national institutions were setup in The UK. It ensured compliance with the environmental laws of the country along with holding public authorities accountable. In England, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) came into existence in 2021 and Scotland chose to establish its own oversight body rather than rely on the OEP. The Scottish Parliament created Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS) through the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021.

England's Office for Environmental Protection (OEP)

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) helps to protect and improve the environment by holding government and other public authorities to account. OEP is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. It was legally created under Environment Act 2021 and work covers England and Northern Ireland. They also cover reserved matters across the UK (a matter on which only the UK Parliament in Westminster can make legislation). 

Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS)

ESS was created under the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 (referred as Continuity Act) and began operating in 2022. Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS) is an independent public body, set up to ensure environmental laws and standards are adhered to in Scotland, replacing the European Union’s scrutiny and enforcement role after Brexit. Our mission is to ensure that Scotland’s environmental laws and standards are complied with, and their effectiveness improved to achieve Scotland’s ambitious targets for the environment, nature and climate change.

Functions and Jurisdiction

ESS’ functions are set out in the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021, and include: scrutinising and investigating public authorities’ compliance with environmental law, the effectiveness of the law and how it is implemented and applied in Scotland. it also aim to identify areas where relevant legislations can be improved for betterment.
it cover all public authorities, including:
1. the Scottish Government and its agencies
2. local authorities
3. health and transport authorities
4. organisations carrying out functions of a public nature.

ESS has identified eight environmental topic areas in their Strategic Plan 2022-25 to capture the matters of concern that have been raised and where the relevant investigation or analysis has taken place. These are 

• air quality
• biodiversity 
• ecosystem resilience 
• land and soil
• water and resources
• climate change
• population and human health 
• cultural heritage. 

It is based upon those used in the Strategic Environmental Assessment and the Environmental Impact Assessment processes.