The Government has agreed to accelerate publishing its response to the Office for Environmental Protection’s (OEP) annual assessment report, following pressure from the Environmental Audit Committee.
Writing to Toby Perkins MP, Chair of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee on 2nd June, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed says that the Government is now aiming to publish its response to the OEP’s assessment in summer 2025.
This follows the Chair asking the Secretary of State to publish the Government’s response quicker than the previous Government, to avoid the response being published nearly two years after the period covered by the OEP’s initial report.
Steve Reed writes:
“The Environment Act requires us to publish and lay our response in Parliament no later than 12 months after the OEP's report was published – by 14th January 2026 at the latest. However, following conversations with Dame Glenys Stacey, OEP Chair, as well as feedback from yourselves in January, we are aiming to publish the statutory response in summer 2025. Going forward we are exploring the feasibility of alignment with the statutory EIP annual progress report.”
The OEP’s report, published in January 2025 and covering the period from April 2023 to March 2024, said that the Government remains largely off track to achieve its legal commitments. While there had been some progress, that progress was slowing and substantial challenges remained, with the OEP noting a “loss of momentum”.
In the letter, Mr Reed also confirms that the Government will publish its revised five-year Environmental Improvement Plan after the Spending Review.
Toby Perkins, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, said:
“I am pleased that the Government has listened to the Committee and opted to publish its response to the OEP’s report sooner than planned.
According to the OEP, the Government is largely off track to achieve its environmental goals. That is deeply worrying, and both Parliament and the public need to know how the Government plans to rectify the situation.
There is clearly work to do, and I look forward to scrutinising the Government’s response in detail to ensure it is making the right choices for the UK’s climate and nature goals.”
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