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Natural England is a non-departmental public body
Non-departmental public body

In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury and Scottish public bodies to certain types of public bodies....
 of the UK government. It was formed (vested) on 1 October 2006. It is responsible for ensuring that England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
's natural environment, including its land, flora
Flora

In botany, flora has two meanings. The first meaning, flora of an area or of time period, refers to all plant life occurring in an area or time period, especially the naturally occurring or indigenous plant life....
 and fauna
Fauna

File:Fauna.pngFauna is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoology and paleontology use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g....
, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved. It also has a responsibility to help people enjoy, understand and access the natural environment.

Natural England was established by the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, which implemented the recommendations of a rural review by Christopher Haskins, Baron Haskins of Skidby
Christopher Haskins, Baron Haskins of Skidby

Christopher Haskins, Baron Haskins of Skidby , is a United Kingdom/Ireland businessman, and former member of the UK Labour Party.The son of a Protestant farmer, he attended St Columba's College, Dublin and Trinity College, Dublin where was known as a student radical and member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament....
.






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Natural England is a non-departmental public body
Non-departmental public body

In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury and Scottish public bodies to certain types of public bodies....
 of the UK government. It was formed (vested) on 1 October 2006. It is responsible for ensuring that England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
's natural environment, including its land, flora
Flora

In botany, flora has two meanings. The first meaning, flora of an area or of time period, refers to all plant life occurring in an area or time period, especially the naturally occurring or indigenous plant life....
 and fauna
Fauna

File:Fauna.pngFauna is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoology and paleontology use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g....
, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved. It also has a responsibility to help people enjoy, understand and access the natural environment.

Natural England was established by the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, which implemented the recommendations of a rural review by Christopher Haskins, Baron Haskins of Skidby
Christopher Haskins, Baron Haskins of Skidby

Christopher Haskins, Baron Haskins of Skidby , is a United Kingdom/Ireland businessman, and former member of the UK Labour Party.The son of a Protestant farmer, he attended St Columba's College, Dublin and Trinity College, Dublin where was known as a student radical and member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament....
. It was formed by the amalgamation of three founder bodies:
  • Countryside Agency
    Countryside Agency

    The Countryside Agency in England was a statutory body set up in 1999 with the task of improving the quality of the rural environment and the lives of those living in it....
    , the landscape, access and recreation elements
  • English Nature
    English Nature

    English Nature was the United Kingdom government agency that promoted the Conservation ethic of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006....
  • Rural Development Service
    Rural Development Service

    The Rural Development Service was formerly part of the Politics of the United Kingdom's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs . It ceased to exist on 1 October 2006 following the creation of Natural England....
    , the environmental land management functions of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
    Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the United Kingdom government department responsible for environmental quality protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom....
     (Defra)


It received the powers of the founder bodies e.g. awarding grants; designating Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of Rural considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government; or the Norther...
 and Sites of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon them, including National Nature Res...
; managing certain National Nature Reserves; overseeing access to open country and other recreation rights; and enforcing the associated regulations. It is also responsible for the administration of numerous grant schemes and frameworks that finance the development and conservation of the natural environment, for example Environmental Stewardship
Environmental Stewardship

Environmental Stewardship is an agri-environment scheme run by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in England. It was formally launched on 18 March 2005, although the first agreements did not start until 1 August 2005....
.

As an NDPB it is theoretically independent of Government. However, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs will have the legal power to issue guidance to Natural England on various matters, a constraint that is not placed on its predecessor NDPBs. Natural England takes its Finance, Human Resources and Estates services from the Defra Shared Services organisation. Information Technology services are outsourced to IBM; it will be responsible for the delivery of some aspects of Defra's Public Service Agreements (e.g. reversing the long-term decline in the number of farmland birds by 2020 and improving public access to the countryside).

Natural England is focusing its activities and resources on four strategic outcomes:
  • a healthy natural environment
  • enjoyment of the natural environment
  • sustainable use of the natural environment
  • a secure environmental future


State of the Natural Environment


In May 2008 Natural England published a report called . This brought together statistics and facts about England's environment, so that it could be used by environmental organisations as a benchmark and source for policy development.

This complemented reports produced by other organisations:

  • Environmental facts and figures Environment Agency
    Environment Agency

    The Environment Agency is a non-departmental public body of the Defra and an Assembly Sponsored Public Body of the National Assembly for Wales....
  • Heritage counts English Heritage
    English Heritage

    English Heritage is a non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government with a broad remit of managing the historic built environment of England....
  • State of the UK's birds RSPB
  • State of Britain's butterflies Butterfly Conservation
    Butterfly Conservation

    Butterfly Conservation is an insect conservation movement organization in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1968 as the British Butterfly Conservation Society by a small group of dedicated naturalists, headed by Sir Peter Scott....


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