Recruitment drive at Natural England welcome but not enough

It has been announced that Natural England is recruiting 200 new members of staff.

The Chair of Natural England made the statement on Twitter over the weekend.

Natural England has faced a decade of real terms cuts and reductions in staff so an uptick in recruitment is welcome but not enough.

Jane Lancastle, Prospect Negotiator, reacted to the news:

“Natural England has been at breaking point for some time with low morale due to understaffing and poor pay. This recruitment programme is welcome and will go some way to alleviating the unnecessary pressure our members face but the organisation still faces huge problems.

“With pay at the current level Natural England may struggle to recruit the new staff it seeks and ongoing retention issues will continue. Increasing staffing is an important step and signals a willingness to take the environment seriously but unless structural issues are also addressed it is not enough.”