Deputy Chair

The Rt Hon Lord Blencathra

Biography

Lord Blencathra is a member of the House of Lords where he chairs a Select Committee and has been appointed to the Council of Europe.

He was formerly Minister of State at the Home Office and a Minister at the Department of the Environment in the 1990s. At the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 he led for the UK and launched the Darwin Initiative. He formerly represented England’s largest rural constituency as the MP for Penrith and The Border. Lord Blencathra has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair.

Other positions held:

  • honorary vice-president of Penrith Agricultural Society

Deputy Chair

The Deputy Chair of Natural England is responsible for assisting the Chair in leading the organisation and making sure that it fulfils all of its goals.

Natural England

Previous roles in government

  • Non-executive board member