The prime minister has announced an ‘infrastructure revolution’, as he promises to put jobs and infrastructure at the heart of the government’s economic growth strategy. Drawing comparisons with Roosevelt’s New Deal, the government promises to ‘unite and level up’ the country. Infrastructure projects are to be accelerated, with a National Infrastructure Strategy and wider reforms promised later this year. Read more
This is a joint piece by Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England, Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the Environment Agency and Sir William Worsley, chair of the Forestry Commission.
The effects of the coronavirus pandemic on our society and economy have been profound and will leave a lasting legacy. While the outbreak of the virus was a great shock to our system, the legacy it leaves is much more within our control. Read more
Parliament is back in business after the initial lockdown forced it to close. MPs are expected to be physically present in the House of Commons, except for those who are at high risk of coronavirus or have caring or parental responsibilities. Those MPs will be able to take part in some proceedings remotely and exercise their vote through a proxy system. Read more
This post is by Emma Rose, director of Unchecked UK.
Over the past eight weeks we have learnt a lot about what British people think is important. We have learnt that the public see compassion as a desirable response in a crisis. We have seen how much people care about the wellbeing of others in their communities. And we have learnt that citizens can – and do – change their behaviour when they understand the reasons for doing so, when these reasons chime with their own interests, and when rules are seen to fairly apply to all. Read more
This post is by Ruth Chambers, senior parliamentary affairs associate at Greener UK, and Caterina Brandmayr, senior policy analyst at Green Alliance.
Over the past few months, we have become acutely aware of just how important supply chains are to our lives, as businesses across the UK are working in extremely demanding circumstances to maintain important supplies of food, water and medical equipment. Read more
This post is by Hilary McGrady, director-general of the National Trust. A longer version was published by the Daily Telegraph.
Right now, the nation’s attention is rightly focused on dealing with the immediate and profound impact of Covid-19 on health, social fabric and livelihoods. But governments around the world are beginning to turn their thoughts to recovery. Read more
Guy Thompson is managing director of EnTrade, an online marketplace in accredited environmental services, formerly he was director of Green Alliance and founding executive director of Natural England.
What will the Environment Bill do? It’s been widely heralded as a world-leading benchmark in environmental legislation. And a new architecture of legally binding targets will indeed create a powerful framework for action on the ground. But targets alone will not deliver on the government’s ambition that we will be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state. Read more
The Environment Bill passed an important parliamentary milestone on Wednesday with its second reading. This is a clear sign that there is strong cross-party support for the bill in principle. But, as many MPs said during the debate, the bill is not yet good enough, either to address the environmental crisis or to meet the government’s aspiration to set out the most ambitious environmental programme on earth. Read more
This post was first published in Business Green
The Environment Bill makes a welcome return to Parliament next week in a prime slot after Prime Minister’s questions. It is wide-ranging and includes important measures on four critical foundations of our natural environment: nature, air, water and resources and waste. But its lasting legacy will be a new environmental governance system for England and Northern Ireland. Read more
The Brexit process has had a major impact on the way government is organised, and it has transformed one department, Defra. While much of this change has been beneficial, the pace of it has brought a number of challenges which should be addressed. Read more
