Sir James Bevan calls for greater powers and tougher punishments

Environment Agency Chief Executive Sir James Bevan has called for greater powers and tougher punishments to aid with post-Brexit regulation during his speech at a Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum conference on future environmental standards. In discussing Brexit, he suggested a different approach to thinking is needed, and regulators should start by speaking softly. If that approach fails, Bevan went on to say the regulator should also have greater powers.

“So the future model I’d like to see would also carry a much bigger stick. It would make regulated industries pay the full cost of their regulation. They currently don’t: quite a lot of it is subsidised by the taxpayer. It would make them pay the full cost of repairing any damage they do to the environment: they currently don’t do that either. And the model would carry much tougher punishment for the biggest and worst polluters. In cases of extremely harmful and reckless pollution – and we’ve seen far too much of that in the last few years – that would include fines so large they would put a major dent in companies’ bottom lines and sentences that would put their bosses in jail. That would greatly concentrate the minds of Boards and Chief Executives and have a powerful deterrent effect.”

NEWS CATEGORIES

LATEST NEWS

UK Water Partnership publishes recommendations to support the transition to circularity in the water sector

The UK Water Partnership has published a series of recommendations, in collaboration with multi-disciplinary professional services consultancy WSP, for unlocking system-level change for the...

Severe storms highlight groundwater risks we can’t ignore, expert warns

A leading flood expert is urging the government to recognise the growing risk of groundwater flooding, following heavy rain and storms across the UK.  As...

Welsh Water reports largest ever half year capital investment for first 6 months of 2024/25

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water delivered its largest ever half year capital investment for the six months between April and September 2024. Capital expenditure for...

BarhaleEnpure to deliver vital P-removal schemes near Barnsley and York

Yorkshire Water has appointed BarhaleEnpure JV to deliver two key projects as part of its £500M investment in phosphorus removal under the Water Industry...