Our governance

Details of Natural England’s governance structures and processes.

Natural England is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) established by the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.

Natural England developed its framework document in partnership with its sponsor department, Defra. The document:

implements the principles set out in the cross-government code of practice for partnerships between departments and arm’s length bodies
sets out Natural England’s:
- purpose and status
- methods of governance and accountability for its activities
- ways of working with Parliament, stakeholders, customers and Defra group
- main duties as an NDPB – for example, the way that it should use and account for public money

Natural England Board

The main roles of the Board are to:

provide leadership for the organisation – setting strategy and direction, agreeing objectives and overseeing performance
ensure that effective arrangements are in place to provide assurance on risk management, governance, internal control and use of public money

The Board is the decision making body for Natural England. The board retained authority (PDF, 45KB, 3 pages) sets out the matters that need to come before the Board for decision. All other authority is delegated to the Chief Executive.

Board members

Members act in accordance with the board code of conduct (PDF, 117KB, 8 pages) .

Board committees and groups

The Board delivers its duties through regular formal board meetings and through a small number of statutory and time-limited sub-committees.

Committee terms of reference:

audit and risk committee (PDF, 173KB, 4 pages)
science advisory committee (PDF, 96KB, 3 pages)
remuneration committee (PDF, 17.6KB, 1 page)
board innovation group (PDF, 78.8KB, 2 pages)
upland peat working group (PDF, 196KB, 1 page)

Board meetings

Board meetings in 2018 will be held on:

12 September
5 December

Board meetings in 2019 will be held on:

23 January
20 February
20 March
8 May
19 June
17 July
11 September
6 November
4 December

Some board meetings are open to members of the public. To register your attendance email naturalenglandcorrespondenceunit@naturalengland.org.uk or telephone 0300 060 3900.

Minutes of board meetings (published after confirmation at next meeting):

18 July 2018 (PDF, 212KB, 12 pages)
20 June 2018 (PDF, 95KB, 13 pages)
21 March 2018 (PDF, 254KB, 12 pages)
21 February 2018 (PDF, 116KB, 13 pages)
17 January 2018 (PDF, 252KB, 9 pages)
6 December 2017 (PDF, 91.2KB, 11 pages)
1 November 2017 (PDF, 86.9KB, 13 pages)
13 September 2017 (PDF, 83.1KB, 14 pages)
19 July 2017 (PDF, 1.26MB, 67 pages) – includes board paper and supplement
14 June 2017 (PDF, 87.3KB, 8 pages)
3 May 2017 (PDF, 99.4KB, 10 pages)
22 March 2017 (PDF, 90.2KB, 9 pages)
11 January 2017 (PDF, 100KB, 10 pages)
7 December 2016 (PDF, 77.6KB, 7 pages)
2 November 2016 (PDF, 98.1KB, 10 pages)
21 September 2016 (PDF, 89.2KB, 8 pages)
20 July 2016 (PDF, 75.8KB, 7 pages)
22 June 2016 (PDF, 312KB, 7 pages)
11 May 2016 (PDF, 331KB, 10 pages)
23 March 2016 (PDF, 330KB, 10 pages)
23 February 2016 (PDF, 320KB, 8 pages)
20 January 2016 (PDF, 80.8KB, 11 pages)
2 December 2015 (PDF, 72KB, 9 pages)
4 November 2015 (PDF, 342KB, 39 pages)
16 September 2015 (PDF, 94.5KB, 12 pages)
15 July 2015 (PDF, 70.7KB, 9 pages)
17 June 2015 (PDF, 277KB, 12 pages)
20 May 2015 (PDF, 71KB, 10 pages)
29 April 2015 (PDF, 268KB, 12 pages)
25 March 2015 (PDF, 68.1KB, 9 pages)
25 February 2015 (PDF, 6.61MB, 101 pages) – includes meeting papers and agenda
28 January 2015 (PDF, 86.9KB, 12 pages)

The board standing orders (PDF, 39.9KB, 6 pages) detail the procedures which govern the conduct of board meetings.

Senior Leadership Team

Alan Law, Deputy Chief Executive
Dr Tim Hill, Chief Scientist
Julie Lunt, Chief Legal and Governance Officer

The Senior Leadership Team operate within the decision-making framework set out in the:

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