1. The purpose of the BANK WATCH SCHEME is to support the;

- Environmental Audit scrutiny of government’s environmental protection work specifically centred on textile waste as a key contributor of UK waste.

It aims to provide the Committee with factual analysis as it considers the impact of significant changes to environmental protection following a surge in Textile Bank Crime, and concerns that have been identified about the lack understanding and work of the regulators.

During its inquiries into Textile Bank Crime issues arose about the extent and effectiveness of local government’s environmental compliance and enforcement work including the response to reported breaches of environmental standards and regulations.

2 The scheme gives a factual overview of the framework for environmental compliance and enforcement in The UK, covering:

- the definition of environmental compliance, its role in regulation and how it relates to other concepts;

- local government’s overarching environmental objectives and targets and how they are measured;

- the roles and responsibilities of the main bodies responsible for environmental compliance and enforcement;

- what is known about the main bodies responsible for compliance and enforcement, including performance, staffing and spend; and

- recent changes for environmental compliance and enforcement

It also includes case examples on compliance and enforcement issues associated with waste crime and sites of special environmental interest.