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Changes to the Way JNCC operates

The JNCC made changes to the way it operates from April 2005. These changes were part of a process aimed at improving the organisation's efficiency and service delivery and arose from Government's response to a review of the JNCC which reported in 2002.

The changes were enabled by amendment to JNCC's founding legislation, the Environmental Protection Act 1990, through a Regulatory Reform (Joint Nature Conservation Committee) Order 2005. The Order which was made on 9th March, 2005, came into force on 31st March 2005.

The Order has allowed the JNCC to establish a company limited by guarantee to provide specialist and administrative support to the Joint Committee. The company employs staff and holds and manages funding and assets on behalf of the JNCC and is responsible for developing and delivering the JNCC's corporate and business plans. The Regulatory Reform Order also allows the JNCC to have some of its work directly funded by Government.

The benefits of these changes are:

A reduction in the level of administration concerned with staff management, removal of substantial pay anomalies and enabling JNCC to retain its highly-skilled workforce (at present all staff working at JNCC are assigned from one of three country conservation agencies on different terms and conditions);
enabling Government to obtain services from JNCC in a more flexible and transparent manner;
reducing the level of administration concerned with JNCC acquiring the services and facilities needed to deliver its statutory functions efficiently.

The changes are part of a package of measures. Some improvements were previously made through administrative change including the agreement of a new strategy and a revised corporate planning framework. Other changes, requiring primary legislation, will be enabled by the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 which received royal assent in March 2006. These changes will be effected from October 2006 and include extending some of JNCC's functions to Northern Ireland, giving the two Northern Ireland Committee members voting rights, and increasing the number of independent Committee members.

Background to the changes

Government Review

In July 2000, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra, formerly as the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions) embarked on a financial, management and policy review of the JNCC.

Stage 1

Stage 1 of the review appraised the functions of the JNCC and made recommendations as to the future manner in which these might be discharged. Thirteen responses were received during the consultation process on this stage of the review. The Steering Group considered the report and the consultation responses and concluded that the JNCC should continue to deliver the special functions on behalf of the country nature conservation agencies.

The full report, executive summary and the responses received are available in PDF format for online viewing or download from the table below.

The full report, executive summary and the responses received by Defra are available in PDF format for online viewing or download .
The Phase 1 Report
[ - Download the Executive Summary now -] Size: 60 Kb	[ - Download the report now - ] Size: 600 Kb
Responses
[ - Joint Nature Conservation Committee - ]	Size: 24 Kb
[ - British Trust for Ornithology - ]	Size: 7 Kb
[ - Countryside Agency - ]	Size: 36 Kb
[ - Countryside Council for Wales - ]	Size: 13 Kb
[ - English Nature - ]	Size: 13 Kb
[ - New Renaissance Group - ]	Size: 16 Kb
[ - Plantlife - ]	Size: 10 Kb
[ - Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - ]	Size: 11 Kb
[ - Scottish Environment Link - ]	Size: 32 Kb
[ - Scottish Natural Heritage- ]	Size: 51 Kb
[ - Scottish Wildlife Trust - ]	Size: 10 Kb
[ - The Wildlife Trusts - ]	Size: 10 Kb
[ - JNCC Staff - ]	Size: 20 Kb

Stage 2

The FMPR Steering Group met on 5 July to consider the consultation responses to the Stage 1 report. The Steering Group concluded that the JNCC should not become a separate non-departmental public body and should continue to deliver the special functions on behalf of the country agencies. It was agreed that Stage 2 should focus on adapting and building on the existing arrangements. Following the meeting Defra drafted Terms of Reference for Stage 2 which were circulated for consultation with the devolved administrations. The terms of reference were agreed by Ministers.

The Stage 2 report including an executive summary was published on 28 January 2002. In line with the terms of reference, this makes detailed recommendations concerning the future role of the JNCC, staffing and funding arrangements, corporate planning and constitution of the joint committee.

Government Response

A steering group drawn from the country conservation bodies, the JNCC support unit and the devolved administrations prepared a draft response to the recommendations detailed in the Stage 2 Report. The Joint Committee were also consulted and it was discussed at their meeting in September 2002. The Government response to the FMPR report, which was published in November 2002 provided the framework for an action plan of changes. Some of these changes could be made administratively, some would require amendment to the Environmental Act 1990 through a Regulatory Reform Order and others would require a change to primary legislation.