Schedule 3: The Office for Environmental Protection: Northern Ireland Part 1: The OEP’s Northern Ireland functions Monitoring and reporting on the Department’s environmental improvement plans
Paragraph 1 describes the monitoring and reporting functions of the OEP in relation to the environmental improvement plans prepared by the Department. Under this paragraph, the OEP will monitor and assess environmental statistics and reports on an ongoing basis to ensure that it has an effective knowledge base. This information will then be analysed alongside information published by the Department to assess progress made in improving the natural environment in accordance with the current environmental improvement plan.
	Sub-paragraph (1) provides that the OEP must monitor progress in improving the natural environment in accordance with the Department’s environmental improvement plan (the first of which is intended to be the ‘Environment Strategy for Northern Ireland’), as set out in Schedule 2. This is intended to hold the Department to account on its environmental commitments.
	Sub-paragraph (2) requires the OEP to produce a progress report for each annual reporting period. As set out in sub-paragraph (3), the reports will inform on progress made related to improving the natural environment that has occurred within the annual reporting period. This will be measured against the current environmental improvement plan. An annual reporting period is the period for which the Department must produce a report under paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 (a "Schedule 2 report"), as set out in sub-paragraph (4).
	When making a progress report, sub-paragraph (5) requires the OEP to take into account the report made by the Department on progress against environmental objectives for that period, as set out in paragraph 2 of Schedule 2. The OEP will also consider the data for that period, as required by paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 2, as well as any other documents or information which the OEP believes is relevant.
	Sub-paragraph (6) specifies that a progress report may advise how the OEP believes progress could be improved. It may also consider the adequacy of data obtained under paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 2, enabling the OEP to independently determine whether the right information is being collected to evaluate progress in improving the natural environment.
	Sub-paragraphs (7) and (8) require that the OEP’s reports must be laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly and published. This is intended to provide the OEP with sufficient independence when carrying out its reporting functions. The OEP’s reports must be laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly within six months of the relevant Schedule 2 report being laid. This gives the OEP sufficient time to carry out its scrutiny of the Schedule 2 report whilst tying it to a fixed reporting deadline.
	Sub-paragraph (9) requires the Department to respond to the OEP’s report, publishing its response and laying it before the Northern Ireland Assembly. Sub-paragraph (10) requires that the Department’s response must specifically address any recommendations made by the OEP as to how progress with the environmental improvement plan could be improved. Sub-paragraph (11) specifies that the Department must lay its response within 12 months of the OEP’s report being laid; and may include this response in the Department’s subsequent report made under paragraph 2 of Schedule 2. This allows the Department to include the response to the OEP’s progress report as part of the following year’s annual report on the environmental improvement plan.