Government response to JNCC’s advice following the seventh quinquennial review of species protections under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
Published 18 December 2025
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2025
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The government thanks the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Great Britain’s Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies and all those who contributed to the seventh quinquennial review of those species afforded protection under Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
While we will not be implementing the proposed amendments to the Act as set out in JNCC’s advice, the data and evidence provided within the advice is invaluable to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and will help shape wider government activity which will benefit species conservation and recovery.
This government is committed to taking action to recover our threatened native species. That is why we have published the revised Environmental Improvement Plan as our long-term plan for improving the natural environment. It will include actions to help meet the legally binding Environment Act targets.
Local Nature Recovery Strategies are fostering collaboration among local authorities, communities, landowners and conservation groups to identify and agree on priorities for restoring nature and driving the recovery of species of both local and national importance.
Environmental Land Management schemes are providing a significant source of funding for habitat creation and management, including for threatened species, while measures such as Countryside Stewardship and Biodiversity Net Gain are also driving the funding, creation and restoration of habitats, helping to conserve and recover a wide range of wildlife.
Additionally, Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme, which has been running for more than 30 years, provides a significant source of funding for the conservation and recovery of threatened species in England. This programme will now be supported by the outcomes of Natural England’s Threatened Species Recovery Actions project (published in August 2025), which sets out key actions to progress the recovery of species that can be used to guide the development of future species recovery projects and inform conservation priorities.
Signed by:
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Nature), Mary Creagh CBE MP
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Date: 18 December 2025