Project management
33. One of the particular difficulties of the ELV
and WEEE Directives is that the Department of Trade and Industry,
Defra and the Environment Agency (as well as the DVLA in the case
of the ELV Directive) all have a role to play in the implementation
process. Several of our witnesses commented on the confusion and
lack of clarity that had resulted. For example, the British Retail
Consortium reported a "lack of any clear division of responsibilities
between the Department of Trade and Industry and Defra. This confusion
has led to unclear channels of communication for stakeholders
and often misleading guidance in preparation for implementation".[57]
The Better Regulation Taskforce reached a similar conclusion.[58]
34. Our witnesses tended to support the recommendation
of the Better Regulation Taskforce that what was needed was a
project management approach in which it was clear which Department
had been appointed as 'leader', and it then set out a timetable
against which progress could be measured. Some drew a contrast
between the ELV Directive, where such an approach had not been
adopted, and the WEEE Directive, where - to an extent - it had.[59]
We support the recommendations of the Better Regulation Taskforce,
and urge the Government to ensure (a) that a clear 'lead' Department
is designated for each piece of environmental legislation, and
(b) that a project management approach to the implementation of
legislation is adopted. Doing so would go some way to avoiding
a repeat of the confusion and lack of clarity which has afflicted
the stakeholders of these two Directives.
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