Authorities in the UK were ill-prepared to assume responsibility for regulation from the EU following the transition period, according to an academic report.

The wide-ranging report found UK bodies were not ready to take on their new responsibilities from January 1 this year, and that gaps in this area still remain.

It also questions whether existing authorities are well enough equipped to carry on such responsibilities compared to the bodies they have replaced, due to staffing, budgets and expertise.

Researchers from a number of universities contributed to the review coordinated by the UK in a Changing Europe, the Centre for Competition Policy, and Brexit and Environment.

The review examines policy and regulation in key areas - including trade, crime and the environment - after the transition period ended on December 31.

Under environmental regulation, the UK left the EU's European Environment Agency and the UK Government committed to establishing a new independent regulator tasked with ensuring environmental standards are upheld.

However, there have been delays in the creation of the UK Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), which is not expected to be up and running until at least mid-2021.

This leaves the UK without a body to monitor the UK Government's actions or scrutinise compliance with environmental law, according to the report.

It also found that many UK authorities are not adequately equipped compared to the EU bodies they have replaced, in areas such as staffing and budgets.

Meanwhile, UK regulators have also lost access to networks and agencies with experience and expertise, such as the European Competition Network (ECN) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The report raises concerns about the length of time it could take for existing regulators to develop necessary expertise, adding: "Some ask not when, but whether, UK bodies will rival their EU-level counterparts."

Professor Tamara Hervey, from the University of Sheffield, who looks at how Brexit will affect the NHS in the report, said it was "critical" to track the effects of these changes on the UK.

She said: "Brexit isn't 'done', you cannot unwind over 40 years of legal, political, economic, social and cultural integration in a few short months, but the UK's relationship with our nearest neighbours has fundamentally changed.

"It's critical for us to draw on social science expertise to track the effects of these changes for our country.

"This report provides a baseline for us to measure against going forward."