# Environment Act 2021, Section 31: Failure of public authorities to comply with environmental law

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

(1) Sections 32 to 41 make provision about functions of the OEP in relation to failures by public authorities to comply with environmental law.
(2) For the purposes of those sections, a reference to a public authority failing to comply with environmental law means the following conduct by that authority—
(a) unlawfully failing to take proper account of environmental law when exercising its functions;
(b) unlawfully exercising, or failing to exercise, any function it has under environmental law.
(3) In this Part “public authority” means a person carrying out any function of a public nature that is not a devolved function, a parliamentary function or a function of any of the following persons—
(a) the OEP;
(b) a court or tribunal;
(c) either House of Parliament;
(d) a devolved legislature;
(e) the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers, a Northern Ireland department or a Minister within the meaning of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2021/30/section/31 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/environment-act-2021/section-31
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.