Natural England

Secretary of State, thank you for those kind words. We're delighted that you're able to be here to celebrate with us this evening and I'm heartened to hear that you share our enthusiasm for the hugely exciting challenge that lies ahead of us.

Our strategic direction

We're here tonight to celebrate the birth of Natural England. It's been quite an ordeal. As those who have been involved throughout the process will testify - not least the staff - we've had a very long gestation period. Longer than an elephant's, in fact! We had a few pre-natal difficulties mid-way through the labour. And, if you believe everything you read in the newspapers, the baby was almost strangled at birth. But, with vesting last week, we're now one organisation and I'm pleased to say that the fresh oxygen of birth and release of new energy that has come with that has been palpable. I've no doubt the new baby has some teething difficulties ahead but, if the response of our staff and partners over the last week and a half is anything to go by, I'm happy to say that this new born child has a very promising future.

I'm conscious we've already made you sit through two speeches and a film and you must be keen to get to the organic wine and canapés by now. I'm therefore going to be fairly brief. I'd like to do three things:

• To build on Chair's comments about our direction of travel and share with you my personal vision for Natural England.
• To respond to the Secretary of State's inspiring narrative about how our work fits with his concept of an environmental contract.
• And to touch on the part we hope you will play in our work.

If I can begin with our direction of travel. The creation of a new organisation of Natural England's size, and scale of legislative remit, is a rare and exciting opportunity to develop a whole new approach. As its first Chief Executive, I feel enormously privileged to be a part of this. As has been said many times already over the last few days - and I make no apologies for repeating it this evening - our creation is far more than a merger, but a landmark moment for the conservation and enhancement of the natural environment. When we embarked on this journey six months ago, we put a huge amount of work into defining our direction of travel. I was delighted that our Minister Barry Gardiner gave us his early backing in approving our Strategic Direction only weeks into his new brief. We were most grateful to be given this vote of confidence by the new ministerial team so early on in their tenure, as we were still at a vulnerable point in our gestation then.

So what will Natural England be all about? Essentially we're about four things:

• First and foremost, we aim to deliver a healthy natural environment for now;
• Recognising that biodiversity and landscapes are experienced at their fullest when connected with people, so we're about more people accessing and enjoying the natural environment more often;
• We recognise that none of this can happen without the sustainable use and management of our natural resources;
• And you'll often hear us saying that Natural England will be about urban environments as well as rural environments. We're also as much about tomorrow as we are about today. Consequently, the emphasis we'll have on informing today's decisions to shape our environmental security for the future - arguably the biggest challenge of all. Chair described for you earlier some alternative names for Natural England. Perhaps another one that could be added to the list is the climate change adaptation agency for the natural environment, as that will certainly be central to what we do.

Response to Secretary of State

Dwelling on the last point, I would like to respond briefly to the Secretary of State's vision.

Interest in the natural environment is growing. Despite the 5 million members of environmental NGOs in the UK, the power of beautiful landscapes and wildlife to inspire, engage and motivate people is still surprisingly untapped. But you only need to look at the incredible success of BBC's Springwatch series to see how the natural environment is still a huge source of inspiration to people. We need to use this to reach out to the latent support of millions of people who know they need to change their behaviour but are not yet motivated to do so. Inspiration and an understanding of the moral case for protecting the environment will be a prerequisite to making the difficult personal choices required to achieve One Planet Living. By brokering access to the natural environment, we will give people new perspectives and experiences which may be the seedbed for reverence and respect. And as such, we will be at the forefront of facilitating people's entry into their environmental contract.

What kind of organisation is Natural England going to be?

Having described some of what we'll be doing, let me say a little about how we'll go about it. First and foremost, we will always be focused on the delivery of environmental outcomes. As such, we have designed Natural England to be a flat, flexible and fast moving organisation. We were set up as a delivery organisation and expect to be judged by the timeliness, responsiveness and quality of our customer care. Delivery of the agri-environment programme is a given. For me, this determines our licence to operate and, as such, will be prioritised in its own right and as our passport to our wider agenda.

On nature conservation, having completed an extensive review of our in-year cuts and discussed planning assumptions with Defra for 07/08, we are committed to preserving all the programmes which contribute to the 2010 target for SSSIs and reversing the long term decline in the number of farmland birds by 2020.

We will achieve these outcomes by applying an appropriate mix of advice, advocacy, incentives, regulation and practical action according to the range of challenges that the natural environment faces. Our presence will be visibly and vocally felt in the regions. Flexibility to respond to regional and local differences within clear national frameworks will be a hallmark of our approach.

It is also important that our environmental credentials are as deep green as the environment we are working to protect and enhance. We will lead by example in adopting good environmental management and sustainable practices. We've already committed to developing a carbon accounting system by next March and the slightly hair-raising target of halving our greenhouse gas emissions by 2010.

Our agenda for the natural environment is more challenging than Natural England could ever deliver on its own. Hence, in our Strategic Direction, we've been clear about where we're dependent on your contribution as partners. Consequently we'll be the first to celebrate your successes in this partnership. There will also be times when you'll experience us as a bold commentator. This will be a fine line for us to tread because our purpose is not to be unnecessarily critical, but to compel others to take action where needed. In advising on the impact of policies and actions that affect the natural environment, we will always explain our position clearly. We will not always agree with you, neither will we surprise you with our views. We will be both trenchant and objective champions for the natural environment, based on the best available science and evidence.

The theme of partnership brings me to our four campaigns. Natural England is committed to being a campaigning NDPB. It may seem a radical departure from what has gone before but, before you jump to that conclusion, remember that it was the late Max Nicholson, the architect of the 1949 Act, who coined the term 'The Environmental Revolution'. In 1970, he wrote that it would be "the first moment during man's tenure of this earth when the nature of conduct of his stewardship will be continuously under critical scientific scrutiny, not too far separated from the seats of power and the enforcement of accountability".

So why campaign? These days, almost everyone 'campaigns': the NFU, politicians, pressure groups, newspapers - even sometimes, 'big business'. This is because the world has changed. The way change comes about, has changed.

The film has already lifted the lid on our campaign themes: marine conservation, health, land management and climate change. But it would not be right for me to say we are launching these campaigns today. Instead we are inviting our partners to join us in helping to shape them. One Planet Living requires public consent but more than that, active participation. We want to avoid launching glitzy sounding 'initiatives' which cannot be matched by the activities or which lack the resources to follow through and deliver - we aim to make a real difference. So please respond to our call to arms and join us in developing our campaigns over the coming months.

Conclusion

So having celebrated your part in our future, I would like to conclude by adding my thanks to all of you who have helped us to get here. The birth of Natural England has been three years in the making and the culmination of many people's hard work. We are particularly grateful to the Secretary of State, his ministerial team and officials for their support. Thank you also to the FCO for their hospitality - it's particularly pleasing that Margaret Beckett and Lord Haskins were able to join us this evening as architects of the review of rural delivery arrangements that led to our creation.

Thank you for coming along to celebrate with us this evening. Please do enjoy.