Speeches by Reynolds.

“I cannot overstate it, I don’t think. It is really, really important. We have worked closely with the OEP, and we know that you work closely with the OEP, too. Having those interim targets and detailed delivery plans means that, as a Department, working with our important ALBs, we can push forward and meet those target…”

“No. I think it is about how these things are implemented, but it is also about the guidance around them. Governments are always looking at trade-offs, but here we can make sure that we have a system—and we had a lot of these discussions during the passage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill—where we do restore natu…”

“Gosh. Well, thank you for the easy question to start with. That is a really tricky question. I will answer it, but let me first say that, being in government, you realise that some of the challenges we face are very obviously complex and difficult, and that they take time to resolve. I will set out what I would like my…”

“I do not know if we will repeat that specific piece of research, but I would imagine that we will provide further updates on the effectiveness of EPPS. We will be looking at the effectiveness of the whole of the Environment Act over the next year, so I am sure we will be coming back to the Committee.”

“Thank you for the question. It is high on my agenda, and that of the Government, because we have seen an increasing number of big and small sites, but particularly these big sites, in different parts of the country. Some are better known than others. You will have seen that the site in Kidlington is one that, in except…”

“If you look very carefully at what the Prime Minister has said, we do not want to pit building and nature against each other. I very much want to see a win-win situation where we can have the best of both. On planning, we can agree that the existing system does not work well for anyone. It does not work well for those …”

“We know that some Departments encounter this more as part of their daily work. I do not know if it is a case of needing more support or senior leverage, but we are continuing our work to make sure that every Department is engaged. Where Departments are used to working on issues that affect the environment daily—for exa…”

“I respect the work of the OEP, and we work closely with it, as you do. I do think that the Government need space to be able to take decisions collectively and to do so while taking into consideration all the different parts. I was trying to convey that, when I was a Minister in the Treasury and in the DWP, I was more a…”

“Yes, and we have a very small but very effective team who are going around Government as that source of expertise, offering other Departments that advice, insight and tools on how to do that. We do not want to do it for them, because it has to be their responsibility and we want them to own it, but we are providing adv…”

“I am all for selling the Government’s policies. It will depend on what it is. Sometimes we take the view that it is more suitable to have a written ministerial statement; sometimes it is more for an oral statement. I will take on board what you have said today, and we will reflect on it.”

“It depends on what the Government want to do. We have to ensure that, as the Chancellor has set out, we meet our fiscal rules—that is really important—and that as a Government we have financial discipline. We have secured a record amount for flood defences, both maintaining current defences and constructing new defence…”

“I was not the Secretary of State at the time of the spending review.”

“That is an interesting question. I do not really see it like that. I do not have any competitive tension with my Cabinet colleague Ed Miliband. By the way, he is somebody I have worked with closely for many years in different guises. We work closely with DESNZ on offshore wind because, in order to make sure we meet the…”

“Sorry, it is only because it is in the forefront of my mind, and I will come to it, but one of the areas where I worked across Government was on the APR issue, which was quite a big change that we were able to bring forward. We work very closely with Government Departments on planning issues. We have worked very closel…”

“Obviously, we are very serious about meeting the 30 by 30 commitments that we made internationally, both on land and in our seas. I would say, though, that I know the OEP did a very serious piece of work, a progress report, but that was focused on the progress up until March of last year. There has been quite some prog…”

“To the last bit of your question, obviously, as you would expect, I was very involved. That is something I worked on across government, and I think we reached a good position, which is significantly increasing the threshold. However, we have retained the policy, which is obviously that if you have land that is worth ov…”

“Thank you for the question. We are one Government, and I work very closely with my predecessor. Obviously, he is in the same building as me, just up the corridor at MHCLG. Certainly, from my perspective and the Government’s perspective, it is good that we have a Secretary of State for Housing who knows DEFRA and some o…”

“As a Department we work across Government to make sure that concerns around nature and the environment are taken into account in the round. I think we have now protected the small farmers, given that we have increased the threshold significantly. We worked hand in glove with MHCLG on the Planning and Infrastructure Bil…”

“We are happy to reflect on that.”

“There have been some pretty significant arrests in recent weeks as well. The cross-working between our Department, our arm’s length bodies, the Home Office and the enforcement agencies is starting to pay a dividend in holding people to account. However, it is an ongoing piece of work, because we know there are many ind…”