Part 1: Environmental Governance Chapter 2: The Office for Environmental Protection Section 25: Guidance on the OEP’s enforcement policy and functions
Subsection (1) of this section provides that the Secretary of State may issue guidance to the OEP on its enforcement policy, specifically the matters listed under section 23(6).
	Subsection (2) requires that the OEP have regard to this guidance in preparing its enforcement policy and in exercising its enforcement functions. As set out in subsection (3), the OEP’s enforcement functions are those provided for under sections 32 to 41.
	Subsection (4) requires that before issuing guidance to the OEP the Secretary of State must produce a draft of the guidance and lay the draft before Parliament.
	Subsection (5) includes provisions for cases where either House of Parliament or a parliamentary committee chooses to respond to the draft guidance either by passing a resolution in respect of the draft guidance or recommending changes to the guidance, within the period of 21 sitting days after the draft guidance has been laid. The Secretary of State is required to lay a response to any resolution passed or recommendations made by Parliament.
	Subsection (6) requires that the Secretary of State may not prepare and lay the final guidance before, laying a response if required under subsection (5) or, otherwise, before a period of 21 sitting days has passed since the draft guidance was laid. This is intended to allow Parliament sufficient time to scrutinise the draft guidance.
	Subsection (7) provides that the final guidance comes into force when laid before Parliament, at which point the Secretary of State is required to publish it (subsection (8)).
	Subsection (9) defines the "21 day period" for the purpose of subsection (5), and subsection (10) defines what is meant by "sitting day" for the purpose of subsection (9).
	Under subsection (11), the Secretary of State may revise any guidance that has been issued at any time (and subsections (4) to (10) apply in relation to any revised guidance).