Catalogue description Records of the Central Directorate on Environmental Protection

The records are arranged in former reference order thereby reflecting thier original administrative arrangement.

The Central Unit on Environmental Pollution (CUEP) was set up in 1970. In 1978 the Unit was divided into six divisions: Division 1 was primarily responsible for co-ordination of the UK policy on marine pollution control; Division 2 was primarily responsible for policy planning for environmental protection; Division 3 was primarily responsible for co-ordination of UK policy on domestic pollution control; Division 4 was primarily responsible for air pollution and noise; Division 5 was primarily responsible for land, freshwater and marine pollution; Division 6 was primarily responsible for environmental monitoring and assessment systems. Additionally, the Water Data Unit, which provided advice on information and systems for collecting, processing and publication of water data on a national basis was subsumed into the CUEP.

In 1979, the CUEP was re-named the Central Directorate on Environmental Pollution (CDEP) and its functions were divided between seven Divisions: the Toxic Substances Division; the Policy Planning and Co-ordination Division; Energy and the Environment Division; the International Division; Statistics Division; Economics Division and the Water Data Unit (A and B).

Between 1979 and 1991 the CDEP divisions underwent a degree of re-organisiation and in 1991 the divisions were split into two new Directorates: the Directorate of Pollution Control and Wastes (DPCW) and the Directorate of Environmental Policy and Analysis (DEPA). The former became responsible for the Environmental Protection and Industry Division; the Ecolabelling Advisory Body; the Radioactive Substances Division; the Waste Management Division; the Local Environment Quality Division; the Wastes Technical Division and the Environment Agency Project Team. The latter was responsible for the Environment Protection Central Division; the Environment Protection International Division; the Environment Protection, Europe Division; the Environment Protection, Economics Division and the Environment Protection, Statistics Division.

These Directorates remained in place until 1998 when their functions were passed to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.