An Act of Parliament, granted Imperial Consent this morning, has downgraded the Environmental Office from a government ministry to a department of the Home Office, renaming it to the Environmental Agency in the process.
The Environmental Office was founded in February 2009, administered by the Minister for the Environment. This office has now been renamed to the Under-Secretary for the Environment, and the holder of the position will be appointed by the Home Secretary.
The Environmental Agency retains all the powers and functions that were held by the Environmental Office. Emperor Jonathan I, who appointed himself Minister for the Environment after the resignation of Lord Charles Clarke in September, has remained as Under-Secretary for the Environment.
Speaking to the Austenasian Times, His Imperial Majesty said that “the care of Austenasia’s natural environment should not be seen as an issue separate from others, but as an intrinsic part of our government’s care for the Empire as a whole. All policy decisions made in regards to the internal affairs of Austenasia must be taken with the natural environment constantly in mind, not as an issue to be dealt with by another ministry, and so we felt it appropriate to merge the Environmental Office into the Home Office at the suggestion of His Imperial Highness the Prime Minister.”
