House of Commons - Appointment of the Chair of Natural England - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Appointment of the Chair of Natural England - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Contents

2 Background to the post

4. Natural England was established on 1 October 2006 under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006. It is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) under the sponsorship of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It was formed by bringing together English Nature and parts of the Rural Development Service and the Countryside Agency.

5. Natural England is charged with the responsibility to ensure that England's unique natural environment including its flora and fauna, land and seascapes, geology and soils are protected and improved. Its purpose as outlined in the NERC Act is to ensure that the natural environment is conserved, enhanced, and managed for the benefit of present and future generations, thereby contributing to sustainable development. The Act states that this purpose includes:

promoting nature conservation and protecting biodiversity;

conserving and enhancing the landscape;

securing the provision and improvement of facilities for the study, understanding and enjoyment of the natural environment, and

promoting access to the countryside, open spaces and encouraging open air recreation, and contributing in other ways to social and economic well being through management of the natural environment.

The role of the Chair

6. The Board of Natural England comprises a Chair and no more than 15 members. The Chief Executive is currently an ex-officio member of the Board. The vacancy for a Chair was created by the untimely death of Natural England's first Chair, Sir Martin Doughty, in March 2009. Poul Christensen has been acting as Chair during the vacancy period, having been a Deputy Chair since April 2006. Appendix 2 provides an extract of the NERC Act 2006 setting out the legal basis for the appointment of Chair.

7. The job specification states that the appointments for this post will initially be for three years on a part-time basis, with the Chair expected to work three days a week on Natural England business for a salary of £71,665 per annum. Appointments are normally restricted to a maximum of two terms. Re-appointments may be made subject to satisfactory performance assessment and will be at the discretion of Ministers.

8. The Board of Natural England has collective responsibility for determining the organisation's strategic direction and policies; ensuring that the body discharges its statutory duties within the framework specified by Ministers; ensuring that the body is properly and effectively managed, to safeguard propriety, economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its operation; and providing stewardship for the public funds entrusted to the organisation.

9. In addition to Chairing the Board of Natural England, the Chair will:

oversee the efficient delivery of Natural England's strategic outcomes ensuring the effective management of the executive and providing challenge to the Senior Management Team;

provide visible leadership and direction for the vision and values of Natural England;

represent Natural England to Ministers, stakeholders and those who can help deliver Natural England's objectives, and

cultivate excellent working relationships with Defra, other Government Departments, NDPBs, agencies within the Defra family and with other stakeholders and partners.

10. A full description of the role of the Chair, together with a role specification and terms and conditions extracted from the information pack for candidates, is attached at Appendix 3.



© Parliamentary copyright 2009	Prepared 2 December 2009