Draft Environmental Principles Policy Statement

Overview

In February 2022 the Assembly approved the elements of the Environment Act 2021 (“the Act”) - link provided below - relating to Northern Ireland devolved matters, including a statutory duty on DAERA to publish an environmental principles policy statement (EPPS), defined as: “a statement explaining how the environmental principles should be interpreted and proportionately applied: (a) by Northern Ireland departments when making policy; and (b) by Ministers of the Crown when making policy so far as relating to Northern Ireland.” NI departments and UK Government Ministers, making policy for Northern Ireland, will have a statutory duty to have due regard to the statement.   

The policy statement will ensure that ministers understand how to interpret and proportionately apply these principles across government policy, and will guide ministers towards opportunities to prevent environmental damage whilst supporting innovation and sustainable development. This will help to deliver the government’s intention to deliver NI's environmental objectives.

Why your views matter

Consultation builds relationships between those who make and deliver public policy and those affected by it. It plays a vital role in assessing the views of those who will be affected by policy decisions, helping to raise awareness of issues and problems which may not otherwise be discovered. The consultation will run for ten weeks, after which DAERA officials will review all the consultation responses and refine the draft as appropriate before submitting to the Minister for approval. Executive approval is also required before the draft policy statement can be laid at the Assembly.

Confidentiality

The Department will publish a synopsis of responses to the consultation. This will include a list of names of organisations that responded but not personal names, addresses or other contact details. Your response, and all other responses to this consultation, may be disclosed on request and/or made available on the DAERA website (redacted). The Department can only refuse to disclose information in exceptional circumstances. Before you submit your response, please read the paragraphs below on the confidentiality of responses as this will give you guidance on the legal position about any information given by you in response to this consultation.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 give the public a right of access to any information held by a public authority, in this case DAERA. The right of access to information includes information provided in response to a consultation

The Department cannot automatically consider information supplied to it in response to a consultation as confidential. However, it does have the responsibility to decide whether any information provided by you in response to this publication should be made public or treated as confidential.

The information provided in your response, excluding personal data, may be published or disclosed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Any personal information you provide in your response will be handled in accordance with the UK-GDPR and will not be published.

If you want the non-personal information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please tell us why, but be aware that under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 we cannot guarantee confidentiality.

For information regarding your personal data please refer to the DAERA Privacy Statement at DAERA Privacy Statement | Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (daera-ni.gov.uk).

For further information about confidentiality of responses please contact the Information Commissioners Office. Please see its website at www.ico.org.uk .

What happens next

DAERA officials will carefully consider all of the responses to the consultation and refine the draft Environmental Principles Policy Statement as appropriate. Once approved by the DAERA Minister and the NI Executive, the draft policy statement will be laid at the Assembly, with members having 21 sitting days to scrutinise the draft, after which a final policy statement will be laid and published. The statutory duty for NI departments and UK Government ministers making policy for NI to have due regard to the policy statement will commence 6 months after the final version is published.