Which is your favourite Whitehall government department? It’s got to be Defra hasn’t it? They are the ones who are going to solve England’s environmental problems including those of our wildlife. Floods, pesticides, sewage discharges, bird/poultry flu, a new agriculture policy post CAP, wildlife crime, habitat loss and degradation, overfishing, tree diseases, non-native species and…
Category: THE POLITICS: Ministers, MPs, government policy
Defra fails nature – in the big things and the little things
If Defra were a school it would be judged inadequate, would be served a notice to improve and be put in special measures. But it isn’t, so it jogs on as the government department near the bottom of the political pecking order and with few friends in government or in the real world. Defra sprung…
It’s always touching to get a personal reply from a Minister of the Crown
Bird/Poultry flu. A couple of days ago the RSPB sent out a strongly worded press release, which I reproduced here, which was entitled ‘Defra asleep at the wheel in bird flu emergency’. I tweeted about it later that day: I received a response from Richard Benyon himself: It’s always good to have got a Minister’s…
New scientific paper on whether Badger culls work or not
On Friday a new scientific analysis of the effectiveness of Badger culls on reducing bovine tuberculosis in cattle was published. I knew this paper was coming and knew that it would be greeted with acclaim by those who oppose the cull and derision by those who support it, and that has largely been true. The…
Freedom to downgrade environmental protection?
The Brexit Freedoms Bill is announced but not yet published so we don’t exactly know what will be in it but it is one to watch (with one’s fingers crossed). In her Telegraph article the Attorney General tries to persuade us that EU laws were undemocratic despite the fact that we voted to join the…
Reshuffle
It is difficult to feel very worked up about the reshuffle. It is a reshuffle of a pack of knaves and jokers. At DEFRA, George Eustice remains – I feel more favourable to Mr Eustice than do many. It’s not as though I can imagine myself ever voting for him but he has served a…
Grouse shooting in the shared policy programme for the Scottish government
The draft shared policy document that forms the basis for a political alliance between the SNP and Scottish Green Party runs to a concise 51 pages. The document has six sections , two of which relate to the climate emergency and Scotland’s natural environment. It is good to see these alongside consideration of Scotland’s place…
The quinquennial review
Every five years (isn’t quinquennial a lovely word?) the UK statutory agencies review various lists of ‘protected’ species. A regular review is a good idea for any biological list, including lists of conservation priority. However, in this case, the recommendations have led to uproar as the statutory agencies have ganged up on a range of…
Utterly feeble DEFRA action greeted with joy by Tony Juniper and gritted teeth by Julian Glover
The following statement was made by the Secretary of State for DEFRA, George Eustice MP, in parliament on Thursday: Statement In May 2018, Defra commissioned Julian Glover and an independent panel to consider how we might improve the management of our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). Their report, the Landscapes Review,…
Eustice disappoints
Just over three weeks ago, George Eustice made quite good speech, but you should never go overboard on praising government departments for speeches when they have to act later to make those words into reality. This week, amendments were published to the Environment Bill which fall far short of what it seemed we would get…