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Enforcement review: background

Defra Ministers launched this interdepartmental Review in September 2005. The Review aimed to develop an effective and flexible system of environmental enforcement which more closely involved the community. The Review has focused helpful initial discussions held at the November 2004 Conference on access to justice in environmental matters.

It proceeded in two stages

  1. evidence gathering to define the obstacles to effective environmental enforcement; and
  2. identifying possible solutions and working out which could bring the most improvement
The Review examined enforcement processes for already existing regulation. These ranged from the processes followed by the courts and regulators like the Environment Agency or local authorities to the ways in which the wider community could assist more effective enforcement. The Review covered all the major environmental regulatory areas, and has considered particularly Pollution Prevention and Control, waste, water quality, noise, and wildlife and habitats.

Page last modified: 19 October 2006
Page published: 22 December 2005

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs