NGO challenges Natural England's refusal to share evidence review details

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Following the UK Government’s recent announcement that burning on peatlands with peat deeper than 30 cm will be effectively banned as a vegetation management tool, the NGO submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Natural England. The NGO is seeking copies of the detailed assessments or scoring sheets underpinning Natural England Evidence Review NEER155: “An evidence review update on the effects of managed burning on upland peatland biodiversity, carbon and water” (2025).

Defra has stated that the policy changes are supported by robust science based on Natural England’s latest evidence assessments. The NGO wishes to examine this claim.

Specifically, the FOI request asked:

•     Whether the review considered the increased risk of wildfire to habitat, wildlife, human health, life, and property, and if so, how this was assessed or scored.

•     How evidence from the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) was incorporated, including any impact on scoring or conclusions, and any related comments, notes, or correspondence between Natural England and the NFCC.

•     Whether the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation’s Wildfire Risk Index was considered, and if not, any recorded reasoning or internal correspondence explaining its exclusion.

Natural England’s response was unsatisfactory: the requested information was not adequately provided, and the exemptions cited were poorly justified. The NGO has therefore lodged a formal appeal under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and will share the outcome once received.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation: The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) represents the gamekeepers of England and Wales. The NGO defends and promotes gamekeeping and gamekeepers and works to ensure high standards throughout the profession. The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation was founded in 1997 by a group of gamekeepers who felt that keepering was threatened by public misunderstanding and poor representation. Today, there are 13,000 members of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation.  www.nationalgamekeepers.org.uk