In June last year, the National Audit Office (NAO) brought together stakeholders to assess whether Natural England (NE) and the Environment Agency (EA) remain ‘fit for purpose’. John Clarke and Tim Weston from the NGO attended on behalf of our members.
The NGO is delighted that many of the concerns it raised with the National Audit Office last summer have been upheld in its recently released Environmental Regulation Report.
The NGO is delighted that many of the concerns it raised with the National Audit Office last summer have been upheld in its recently released Environmental Regulation Report.
In June, the National Audit Office (NAO) brought together stakeholders to assess whether Natural England (NE) and the Environment Agency (EA) remain ‘fit for purpose’. John Clarke and Tim Weston attended on behalf of NGO members. The NAO has now released its report.
Concerns raised by NGO representatives included:
• NE’s use of the precautionary principle is seen by the NGO as a barrier to long‑established and successful land‑management practices, with no acknowledgement that sudden changes could harm wildlife and habitats that had previously been well‑protected.
• New licensing regimes covering predator control, heather burning, bird flu and gamebird release were described by the NGO as overly complex, slow to implement and potentially damaging to long‑standing rural management.
• Decision‑making by NE lacked proportionality, generally with a default response of “no”.
• NE failed to consider the impacts on people’s physical and mental health, rural businesses and local economies.
• Under the GL45 licensing system, there is no right of appeal and limited regard for livelihoods or wellbeing.
• Concerns were raised about the misuse or dismissal of established science in ways that appeared to support NE’s predetermined policy positions.
At nearly 50 pages long, we won’t go into the detail of what is in the report, suffice to say that it addresses many of the concerns the NGO raised, a few key findings of which are mentioned below.
The NAO acknowledges that:
• Defra, NE and EA do not routinely evaluate the real‑world impact of regulation, thus hindering evidence‑based decision‑making.
• Defra, NE and EA have an overly risk‑averse culture.
• Defra’s regulatory approach is largely reactive and lacks a coherent long‑term strategy.
• This absence of strategy has delayed action on improvements proposed by NE and EA.
• Joint regulatory strategies have not been widely implemented.
• NE and EA base regulation on risk, but their effectiveness is limited by inconsistent data collection and use.
• Progress on digital systems remains slow and fragmented.
• Businesses struggle to access clear, practical guidance from Defra and regulators.
• Recruitment and retention challenges continue to undermine regulatory capacity.
The NGO was pleased to attend the stakeholder meeting to share the views and concerns of our members. However, members continue to face delays, rigid rules and little meaningful support, issues that weaken faith in the current regulatory approach.
The NAO’s report exposes the depth of the problem. The NGO believes that only a clear move towards proportionate, science‑based decision‑making will prevent these systemic issues from repeating year after year.
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
