Committee publication · Correspondence · 15 July 2026
Letter from the Secretary of State Environment, Food & Rural Affairs relating to the recruitment of the Chair for Natural England, 7 July 2026
Summary
Secretary of State Emma Reynolds notifies the Environmental Audit Committee of an imminent recruitment campaign for Natural England's Chair. The letter outlines the selection process, essential and desirable criteria, and timeline: adverts launch within two weeks, preferred candidate announced in December, with pre-appointment scrutiny hearing to follow. The role demands a leader capable of balancing environmental protection with sustainable growth.
Key findings
- Recruitment campaign launching within two weeks; preferred candidate to be announced in December 2026
- Essential criteria emphasise leadership, stakeholder relationship-building, communication, strategic judgement, collaboration, and knowledge of Natural England's role in planning and regulatory landscape
- Desirable criteria include experience in economic policy and infrastructure development to support sustainable growth
- Executive search firm will be commissioned; vacancy advertised on Cabinet Office public appointments website and promoted across departmental networks and social media
- Pre-appointment scrutiny hearing scheduled subject to committee agreement, following government's Governance Code on Public Appointments
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Emma Reynolds, Toby Perkins, Alistair Carmichael, Natural England, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Cabinet Office, Environmental Audit Committee, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Notable line
“Natural England must now translate ambition into delivery. As such, we are seeking an outstanding leader who can work through complexity, build strong partnerships, and oversee the successful delivery of major programmes.”
Key Quotes
“I intend to shortly launch a recruitment campaign for a new Chair of Natural England.”
“I am seeking a Chair who can provide strong leadership and drive delivery of its strategy through a period of change. This is a significant role in scale and complexity, requiring strong judgement, a clear commitment to Natural England's statutory responsibilities and Government priorities, and a genuine passion for the natural environment.”
“My intention is for the advert to go live in two weeks' time and announce my preferred candidate in December.”
“To ensure we attract the broadest and most diverse pool of high - quality candidates, I intend to commission an executive search firm to support the recruitment.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗