Oral Answers to Questions — Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 7 December 2017.
Marsha de Cordova
Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions) (Disabled People)
12:00,
7 December 2017
What steps he is taking to ensure the full transfer of EU environmental law to the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
Therese Coffey
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill will ensure that the whole body of existing EU environmental law continues to have effect in UK law. Last month, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that we will consult on the creation of a new national policy statement on environmental principles and on a new independent and statutory body to hold the Government and, potentially, public authorities to account on their environmental commitments.
Marsha de Cordova
Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions) (Disabled People)
I thank the Minister for her response. The Government have boasted that they will leave the environment in a better state than they found it in, so does the Minister agree that we need to enshrine in law not only the equivalent, but even better levels of environmental protections after we leave the EU?
Therese Coffey
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
I agree with the hon. Lady. We are absolutely committed to that, and it has been in our manifesto for the past two years. Aspects of the environment are improving, and with our 25-year environment plan, which will be published shortly, we will continue to set out that agenda for the next generation.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
