Consultation on modernising environmental permitting for industry

As set out in the ‘Case for Change’ chapter, there is a complex split between industrial activities regulated by the EA and those regulated by local authorities. While not entirely consistent, the broad rationale for the split is based on: 

• scale of environmental risk – the EA generally has responsibility for activities where individual sites have potentially wide-ranging cross-media impacts and significant emissions whereas local authorities generally oversee activities where individual sites have lower risk profiles 

• technical complexity – the EA generally handles more complex facilities requiring specialised expertise whereas local authorities manage less complex facilities where more standardised regulatory approaches are possible 

• historical and practical factors – local authorities are generally better positioned to understand local conditions and concerns and have historical expertise in certain sectors 

However, the split between the two regulators has not been properly reviewed for decades, during a period of significant and accelerating industrial transformation. We would like to consider whether there are specific activities which should be transferred between regulators, for example, because risk profiles have changed, more nationally-directed approaches are required or because certain sectors are undergoing significant transformations which require specific expertise that one regulator is better placed to provide. 

Above we have already proposed moving battery manufacturing regulation from local authorities to the EA, given the scale and risks from these processes and the relevant expertise in the EA. However, we would also like to receive feedback on other areas where a change in regulator should be considered.