Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Deferred
Paragraph: 76
Expedite implementation of Schedule 17 to meet global deforestation commitments by 2030.
Conclusion
The Government’s consultation on proposals for Schedule 17 implementation ended in March 2022, but secondary legislation has not yet been brought forward and the Government has not yet committed to a date by which it can be expected. While we welcome the Secretary of State’s recent clarification of the initial commodities which are to be within scope, and the turnover threshold to which the Schedule 17 regime is to apply, many details of the proposed scheme remain unclear. We are concerned that this leaves businesses with uncertainty and impairs their ability to prepare properly to meet the requirements of the regime. Under the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use, the UK has committed to ending deforestation and forest degradation by 2030, and at COP15 global agreements were made to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by the same deadline. With less than seven years remaining until 2030, the UK Government should avoid all further delay to ensure that the UK plays its part in meeting these vital goals.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government detailed its commitment to invest at least £1.5 billion in UK International Climate Finance for forest protection and restoration by March 2026, and announced £576 million in new forests programming, but did not address the delay in bringing forward secondary legislation for Schedule 17.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
76
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
We are fully aware of the urgency of the need to legislate to tackle illegal deforestation in our supply chains and are committed to laying secondary legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows. Once made, organisations in scope of regulation will have a grace period to prepare before the beginning of the first reporting period, which is when the due diligence requirements will enter into force. Organisations in scope of regulation whose use of a regulated commodity or derived product does not exceed the annual threshold of 500 tonnes will be eligible to submit a notice of an exemption from the due diligence requirements. Further guidance on submitting an exemption will be published alongside the legislation.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗