PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Environment Protection: Civil Proceedings (18 January 2017)

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the effect of the proposed changes to cost protections in environmental claims on (a) the number of environmental judicial review applications, (b) the proportion of successful environmental claims and (c) the UK's compliance with the Aarhus Convention and EU law.

Asked by:
Kerry McCarthy (Labour)

An impact assessment accompanied the Government’s response to the consultation on Costs Protection in Environmental Claims in England and Wales, published on 17 November 2016. A revised environmental costs protection regime will be introduced shortly. The new regime, which has been developed in the light of recent developments in case law, allows meritorious claims to be brought without prohibitive expense; it is clearly desirable to reduce the potential for unmeritorious claims.

Answered by:
Sir Oliver Heald (Conservative)
23 January 2017