Out and about with Louise: the OEP briefing on the Environmental Improvement Plan

On 18 January I represented CIEH at the briefing from the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) on the Government’s progress with the Environmental Improvement Plan.

The briefing followed the publication of the OEP’s annual progress report which found that government remains largely off track to meet its environmental ambitions and legal obligations. The report looks at progress across the 10 goals of the Environmental Improvement Plan. Disappointingly half of these are moving in the wrong direction and the message back from speakers and delegates at the briefing was that “more needs to be done and at pace”. 

Dame Glenys Stacey, Chair of the OEP, said: “Deeply, deeply concerning adverse environmental trends continue. Government must speed up its efforts. Many policies are in the early stages or are long awaited. In some areas the right policies are in place, but now must be implemented quickly.”

The panel described how the government is not being clear or transparent on exactly how it will achieve its ambitions and in some areas, particularly longer-term goals, there is a lack of monitoring. They emphasized the need to speed up and scale up and for government to do more to close the gap between vision and reality. The overall message was that government must create timelines and greater accountability as so much is riding on some of this work.

The panel also stressed the importance of aligning with international goals such as the global diversity framework. Within CIEH we have begun examining how the UN Sustainable Development goals will enable global alignment across EH too.

I explained to the panel the crucial role of our members as co-regulators with the Environment Agency, and the part our members play in enforcing environmental protection standards within our communities. As well as describing our unique skills, I cited the lack of qualified and experienced environmental health professionals as a potential factor in why we are falling short of these targets. Without effective sanctions, polluters are not being held to account and without clear regulation, businesses have a lack of clarity in respect of expectations.

I challenged the panel to consider how we can ensure air, land and water pollution targets are met with a diminishing EHP workforce, especially in our local authorities which are experiencing a funding crisis. While the panel acknowledged these challenges, they also recognised that this is a multi-faceted issue and not just about finance.

A policy priority for CIEH is effectively joining the dots across EH and considering the wider scope of social sustainability. We know that the most vulnerable in society are more likely to live in areas of higher air pollution, particularly within our cities. They are also more likely to suffer from poor mental health, live in poor housing conditions and experience more ill health.

All of this prompted further discussion with other delegates, all keen to discuss how we can collaborate, recognising the issues I raised. This included policy professionals and ex-CIEH members now working within government with a background in contaminated land.

As we consider how the political landscape is likely to shift this year our policy team are now following up with contacts to continue the conversation so the voices of our members continues to be heard. As the work of our advisory panels develops, we will report back to panel members to ensure their strategic objectives are aligned and we can gain the most traction for CIEH key messages in the halls of Westminster.

On the OEP website you can access the annual progress report, and additional reports and information, which go into detail in respect of the methodology, data and evidence used.