Natural England, the public body responsible for defending the country’s national parks and sites of special scientific interest, will use its legal powers less frequently and will require funding from the companies it is supposed to monitor, according to a leaked document. The group is facing reductions of 27% to its budget and a 20% loss of staff by June due to cuts to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The internal document from 2020 has been seen by Greenpeace and the Guardian. Conservation organisations argue that the cuts will encourage companies to break the law.
Natural England, the public body responsible for defending the country’s national parks and sites of special scientific interest, will use its legal powers less frequently and will require funding from the companies it is supposed to monitor, according to a leaked document. The group is facing reductions of 27% to its budget and a 20% loss of staff by 2020 due to cuts to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The internal document from June has been seen by Greenpeace and the Guardian. Conservation organisations argue that the cuts will encourage companies to break the law.