New Labour analysis shows that has launched 76 consultations
since becoming Environment secretary in June 2017 – a rate of
nearly four every month – with over half of these failing to
produce any Government action whatsoever and only one piece of
primary legislation passed.
The full analysis shows that:
- · While
has been Secretary of State,
Defra has launched 76 consultations, five of which are still
open.
- · Only
one piece of Defra primary legislation has been passed in the
same period of time.
- · His
predecessor in the role, , launched 16 consultations
in 11 months. After 20 months in post, Gove has brought forward
nearly five times as many.
- · The
Government is yet to respond to 16 closed consultations, one of
which ended 11 months ago.
- · Nine
consultations received Government responses that did not pledge
any action at all.
- · Nine
consultations received Government responses pledging action which
has not been delivered, including pledges on pet welfare and
recycling.
- · In
total, 44 of Gove’s 76 consultations have led to no Government
action – more than half.
- · In
total, Defra under Gove have spent close to three million pounds
on public consultations – and over half of that has been on
consultations that have gone nowhere.
Despite launching 76 consultations and making numerous
high-profile media appearances, as Environment secretary Gove has
failed to:
- Introduce a deposit return scheme for single-use plastics,
with 700,000 plastic bottles littered every day.
- Ban electric training collars for pet dogs and cats, or
produce recommendations on improving the welfare of animals in
transport, despite promising to do so.
- Tackle air pollution, with over 60 per cent of people in
England living in areas where pollution is at illegal levels.
- Fulfil a manifesto pledge to bring forward 25-year plans for
biodiversity or agriculture.
- Meet the target of restoring half of our top wildlife sites
by 2020, with this aim quietly dropped.
- Prevent fly-tipping, with the amount of yearly fly-tipping
waste in England now so great it could stretch from London to
Moscow.
- Investigate the impact on human health of microplastic
particles, which have recently been found in human stools.
Last month 32 organisations from across the food and drink sector
wrote to the secretary of state requesting that he “pause” the
launch of new consultations “as a matter of urgency”.
MP, Labour’s Shadow Environment
Secretary, said:
“ has become the Secretary of
State for Consultations.
“After twenty months in post he’s brought forward 76
consultations compared to only one piece of primary legislation
and repeatedly kicked key pledges on animal welfare and recycling
into the long grass. This analysis raises serious questions about
his ability to force through his policies in a Government that is
tearing itself apart over Brexit.
“The public wants to see real action from Government on the
environment, not endless consultations from a Secretary of State
who grandstands on green issues but can’t get things done.”
Ends
Notes to editors
- · The
sole piece of primary Defra legislation which has passed under
Gove is the Ivory Act 2018. Two further pieces of primary
legislation – the Agriculture Bill and the Fisheries Bill – are
in the process of being debated by Parliament.
- · Last
month 32 organisations from across the food and drink sector
wrote to the secretary of state requesting that he “pause” the
launch of new consultations “as a matter of urgency”.
“The government has been asked to pause as a matter of “great
urgency” consultations on all food, farming and environment
issues because Brexit is choking the capacity of businesses to
respond to ’s plans.”
The Guardian, 11 February 2019
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/11/businesses-brexit-burden-pause-michael-gove-plans
- · Each
public consultation run by the Government costs the taxpayer an
estimated £40,000.
“Each public consultation is estimated to cost the public purse
around £40,000, putting the total bill for all those launched
since 2015 at around £66 million.”
PoliticsHome, 30 March 2019
https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/government-and-public-sector/communications/news/94052/government-accused-wasting-millions
