Welcome to the Green Alliance podcast. We are the charity and think tank dedicated to achieving ambitious leadership for the environment. I'm Ruth Chambers, Senior Fellow at Green Alliance. So I'm delighted today to be joined by Toby Perkins, MP for Chesterfield and chair of the Environmental Audit Committee. Hi Toby. Thanks for joining us.

Thanks very much. Great to be with you, Ruth. So you've been chair of the Crosscutting House of Commons

Environmental Audit Committee since September 2024. And I know you may be biased. But is that one of the

best jobs in Parliament? One of the things that I really enjoy is the extent to which we can look at any department,

any issue, particularly those within departments that might not see the environment as their

main issue, but to ensure that they understand that the environmental

commitments that the government has are legally binding and they're a responsibility of every

single minister.

And I think we've got a great committee.

We find that people who join the Environment

Audit Committee are always surprised and delighted by how broad the scope is. And unlike

other select committees and the Environmental Audit Committee has really helpful supporters

who recognise that it isn't a committee that exists in the way

that other committees do just because they're shadowing a particular department.

But to an extent we all need to fight to ensure it remains relevant and has a role to play.

So I think there are helpful supporters like yourselves who recognise that we can

reach the parts that other committees don't. And that cross-cutting nature, that really has,

I think, been reflected in the ground that you've covered in the first 18 months of this Parliament.

You've published reports on airport expansion and climate and nature targets. You've

looked at flood resilience, housing growth, and you've got live inquiries on a really hot topic,

PFAS forever chemicals and air quality amongst other things. Where do you feel in amongst

that broad list of activity that you're having the greatest impact?

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