Chair: Paul Walton, RSPB
Policy and Campaigns Manager: Zoe Davies, Link
The Link Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) Working Group continues to advocate for INNS legislation to be properly implemented, resourced and enforced, now and after the UK leaves the EU.
The INNS Group recently met with Defra officials to discuss the Statutory Instrument (SI) that will convert the EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation into domestic law. As Defra is unable to conduct a full public consultation on this, and many other, SIs, the extent to which the group is able to influence the scope of the SI is very limited. The Group has significant concerns that the Regulation will be much weaker in UK statute than it was under EU law due to lack of comparable infrastructure and access to resources. The Group intends to work closely with Parliamentary colleagues to exert maximum influence once the SI is laid in Parliament.
In October, the House of Lords EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee released the final report of its Brexit: Biosecurity inquiry. The Committee’s conclusions were very much aligned with those in the evidence Link submitted to the inquiry earlier this year. Namely, that Brexit is likely to lead to serious shortfalls in the UK’s biosecurity in areas such as access to funding, enforcement of legislation, information sharing, and capacity within Government departments and agencies. The Group’s Chair, Paul Walton (RSPB), was quoted in the Independent following publication of the report, reiterating our concerns around lack of resources, capacity and appetite within Government to deal with this critical and intensifying threat.
The Group continues to have a productive relationship with GBNNSS, providing advice and expertise to the Secretariat for effective implementation of the GB Non-Native Species Strategy and EU IAS Regulation. The Group is collaborating with the Secretariat on a project to improve biosecurity signage at nature reserves.
For further information, contact Zoe Davies, Link’s Policy and Campaigns Manager.
Last updated: 6 November 2018
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