{"primaryDescription":"<h2>What next for nature? MPs hear from outgoing Natural England Chair</h2>\r\n<p>On Wednesday, the Environmental Audit Committee will hear evidence from the outgoing Chair and Chief Executive of Natural England, Dr Tony Juniper and Marian Spain respectively, on the future of nature protection in England.</p>\r\n<p>In light of recent extreme heat and the risk of flooding this winter, MPs are likely to ask how Natural England responded to the effects of the summer&rsquo;s drought on nature in protected sites, and how it will help to deliver flood planning across catchments.</p>","secondaryDescription":"<p>Other topics likely to be discussed include:</p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>The balance between delivering economic growth and protecting nature and the environment</li>\r\n<li>Natural England&rsquo;s resourcing, in light of 2000 full time staff being cut in 2025-26</li>\r\n<li>Whether Natural England an remain independent while both delivering and assessing the Nature Restoration Fund, which it also delivers</li>\r\n<li>How the organisation is ensuring nature features in national security discussions across government</li>\r\n<li>&nbsp;</li>\r\n</ul>","parliamentTvUrl":"https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/b1c31357-1f66-4119-a2a3-dc52cbfca054","id":28073,"name":null,"startDate":"2026-09-02T14:00:00","endDate":"2026-09-02T17:00:00","cancelledDate":null,"locationId":11,"location":"Room 8, Palace of Westminster","eventType":{"id":6,"name":"Formal meeting (oral evidence session)","isVisit":false,"description":"Formal meetings may be held in private (for example to consider a draft report) or in public (for example to hear oral evidence), and require a minimum number of members to be present."},"eventSource":"CIS","committees":[{"contact":{"email":"eacom@parliament.uk","phone":null,"address":"Environmental Audit Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA","contactDisclaimer":"We receive a significant number of emails each day. All requests and invitations are considered but we do not respond directly to everyone.\r\nPlease be aware, the committee does not look at individual cases or specific complaints."},"id":62,"name":"Environmental Audit Committee","parentCommittee":null,"subCommittees":[],"house":"Commons","leadHouse":null,"category":{"id":1,"name":"Select"},"committeeTypes":[{"id":22,"name":"(HC) Public Standing Orders - Cross-cutting","committeeCategory":{"id":1,"name":"Select"}}],"showOnWebsite":true,"websiteLegacyUrl":"https://old.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environmental-audit-committee/","websiteLegacyRedirectEnabled":false,"startDate":"1997-11-12T00:00:00","endDate":null,"dateCommonsAppointed":"2024-10-28T00:00:00","dateLordsAppointed":null,"scrutinisingDepartments":[],"isLeadCommittee":true,"nameHistory":[{"id":61,"committeeId":62,"name":"Environmental Audit Committee","startDate":"1997-11-12T00:00:00","endDate":null}]}],"committeeBusinesses":[{"id":9960,"title":"Tony Juniper CBE and Marian Spain: Valedictory","type":{"id":2,"name":"Non-inquiry session","isInquiry":false,"description":"Non-inquiry sessions are brief packages of work that will not necessarily result in a report. They may be used to revisit previous inquiry topics or take evidence on a topical matter."},"openDate":"2026-08-24T00:00:00","closeDate":null,"latestReport":null,"openSubmissionPeriods":[],"closedSubmissionPeriods":[],"nextOralEvidenceSession":null,"contact":{"email":"eacom@parliament.uk","phone":null,"address":null,"contactDisclaimer":null}}],"childEvents":[],"nextActivity":null,"activities":[{"committeeBusinesses":[{"id":9960,"title":"Tony Juniper CBE and Marian Spain: Valedictory","type":{"id":2,"name":"Non-inquiry session","isInquiry":false,"description":"Non-inquiry sessions are brief packages of work that will not necessarily result in a report. They may be used to revisit previous inquiry topics or take evidence on a topical matter."},"openDate":"2026-08-24T00:00:00","closeDate":null,"latestReport":null,"openSubmissionPeriods":[],"closedSubmissionPeriods":[],"nextOralEvidenceSession":null,"contact":{"email":"eacom@parliament.uk","phone":null,"address":null,"contactDisclaimer":null}}],"oralEvidences":[],"id":38593,"name":null,"startDate":"2026-09-02T14:30:00","endDate":"2026-09-02T16:00:00","eventId":28073,"isPrivate":false,"activityType":"Oral evidence","attendees":[{"displayOrder":1,"organisations":[{"name":"Natural England","role":"Outgoing Chair","idmsId":"https://id.parliament.uk/IeinjmsI","cisId":59279}],"submitterType":0,"additionalContext":null,"id":36631,"personId":78171,"name":"Dr Tony Juniper CBE","photoUrl":null,"memberInfo":null},{"displayOrder":2,"organisations":[{"name":"Natural England","role":"Outgoing CEO","idmsId":"https://id.parliament.uk/IeinjmsI","cisId":59279}],"submitterType":0,"additionalContext":null,"id":36632,"personId":19130,"name":"Marian Spain","photoUrl":null,"memberInfo":null}]}]}