Applicants can apply through the Rural Payments service. The online service allows those applying to log on at a time that suits them to submit applications for the hedgerows and boundaries grant or the woodland management plan grant. Applications can be saved and returned at the applicant’s convenience. The online service ensures only eligible fields are included. Instant confirmation is provided once an applicant submits an application.

Customers who already apply for Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) online should find submitting an online application familiar and the service easy to use. Last year 80% of BPS applicants took advantage of applying online.

The woodland management plan grant is open all year round for applications. This year the hedgerow and boundaries grant opened on 1 February and closes on 28 April.

Support is available from Natural England via the Rural Payments helpline on 03000 200 301.

Whilst applicants are encouraged to use the online service, paper applications will still be accepted for the hedgerows and boundaries grant and the woodland management plan grant.

The online service will be extended in spring 2017, when customers will have the option to submit their Countryside Stewardship annual revenue and capital claims.

For enquiries (media only) contact: Mary Tomlinson, Senior Press Officer, Natural England. Email: mary.tomlinson@naturalengland.org.uk Telephone: 07771 834 975.

The Environment Agency has unveiled three paintings by top wildlife artist David Miller to promote angling. The images front the 2017/18 fishing licences which go on sale today (1 March). The three fishing licence designs depict salmon (Salmo salar), mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) in their natural habitats.

You can see the images, and download posters here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rod-fishing-licence-campaign

The Environment Agency has also launched “Get a Fishing Licence” on GOV.UK to simplify the process of buying a fishing licence: www.gov.uk/get-a-fishing-licence. This is part of a series of improvements to the service, which include:

• Free licences for junior anglers, up to the age of 17, announced in November 2016
• The fishing licence now lasts for 12 months from the day it is bought, rather than expiring at the end of March each year
• The use of three rods now needs just one licence, rather than two.

People are required to buy a fishing licence in order to fish legally in England, Wales and along the Border Esk in Scotland. Sales of licences for the 2015/16 season raised £21 million. The money was used to restock rivers with 452,220 coarse fish, encourage over 35,000 people to try angling for the first time and bring 2,043 successful prosecutions against crimes like poaching.

Artist David Miller said:

I’m delighted to have provided the images for the fishing licences again this year, not only because it gave me the opportunity to paint three species for the first time but also because all the money raised goes back into supporting fisheries. Of the three I was particularly pleased with the brown trout, my favourite UK game fish, and one I love to fish for on small rivers and streams.

Judy Proctor, Head of Fisheries at the Environment Agency, said:

We hope David’s stunning images encourage people to give fishing a go. Angling creates over 37,000 full time jobs and generates over £1 billion for the UK economy, but at its heart it’s a much loved outdoor sport connecting people with nature. We’ve listened to anglers’ concerns and improved the fishing licence to make the process of getting out and fishing legally simpler.

People who don’t buy a fishing licence are not only cheating other anglers and the future of the sport but running the risk of criminal conviction and a fine. The Environment Agency urges anyone to report fisheries crime as quickly as possible by calling our incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.

For those who can’t access the internet, fishing licences can still be bought by phoning 0344 800 5386 or over the counter in the Post Office.

ENDS

Notes:

The Environment Agency publishes a detailed breakdown of how fishing licence money is spent in the annual fisheries report on GOV.UK. Read it here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/environment-agency-report-shows-how-21-million-of-rod-licence-money-helps-angling

More on the changes to licences here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/free-fishing-for-children

The Environment Agency has unveiled three paintings by top wildlife artist David Miller to promote angling. The images front the 2017/18 fishing licences which go on sale today (1 March). The three fishing licence designs depict salmon (Salmo salar), mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) in their natural habitats.

You can see the images, and download posters here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rod-fishing-licence-campaign

The Environment Agency has also launched “Get a Fishing Licence” on GOV.UK to simplify the process of buying a fishing licence: www.gov.uk/get-a-fishing-licence. This is part of a series of improvements to the service, which include:

• Free licences for junior anglers, up to the age of 17, announced in November 2016
• The fishing licence now lasts for 12 months from the day it is bought, rather than expiring at the end of March each year
• The use of three rods now needs just one licence, rather than two.

People are required to buy a fishing licence in order to fish legally in England, Wales and along the Border Esk in Scotland. Sales of licences for the 2015/16 season raised £21 million. The money was used to restock rivers with 452,220 coarse fish, encourage over 35,000 people to try angling for the first time and bring 2,043 successful prosecutions against crimes like poaching.

Artist David Miller said:

I’m delighted to have provided the images for the fishing licences again this year, not only because it gave me the opportunity to paint three species for the first time but also because all the money raised goes back into supporting fisheries. Of the three I was particularly pleased with the brown trout, my favourite UK game fish, and one I love to fish for on small rivers and streams.

Judy Proctor, Head of Fisheries at the Environment Agency, said:

We hope David’s stunning images encourage people to give fishing a go. Angling creates over 37,000 full time jobs and generates over £1 billion for the UK economy, but at its heart it’s a much loved outdoor sport connecting people with nature. We’ve listened to anglers’ concerns and improved the fishing licence to make the process of getting out and fishing legally simpler.

People who don’t buy a fishing licence are not only cheating other anglers and the future of the sport but running the risk of criminal conviction and a fine. The Environment Agency urges anyone to report fisheries crime as quickly as possible by calling our incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.

For those who can’t access the internet, fishing licences can still be bought by phoning 0344 800 5386 or over the counter in the Post Office.

ENDS

Notes:

The Environment Agency publishes a detailed breakdown of how fishing licence money is spent in the annual fisheries report on GOV.UK. Read it here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/environment-agency-report-shows-how-21-million-of-rod-licence-money-helps-angling

More on the changes to licences here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/free-fishing-for-children

Joanne Segars OBE has been appointed to the board of the Environment Agency by Environment Secretary, Andrea Leadsom.

The appointment will take effect from 1 March 2017 for three years.

Joanne is the Chief Executive of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, having originally joined the organisation as Director of Policy. She is a board member of the Pensions Infrastructure Platform and Pensions Europe, with experience spent as Chair of both.
Joanne is also on the board of Pension Quality Mark Ltd. Joanne is a founding governor of the Pensions Policy Institute and sits on its council. She is also a Director of TUC Stakeholder Trustees Ltd.

Formally, Joanne was Chair of the Scheme Advisory Board for the Local Government Pension Scheme; a member of the Secretary of State’s Advisory Group on Stakeholder Pensions; and a board member of the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority.

Board members provide non-executive leadership challenge and support to the Environment Agency’s executive through regular board meetings, committees and groups. They also undertake individual lead roles on relevant issues and with local operational teams.

All appointments to the Environment Agency board are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. The appointment complies with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (which was superseded by the Ministerial Governance Code on Public Appointments in January 2017).

The Environment Agency is a Non-Departmental Public Body, set up under the Environment Act 1995 to take an integrated approach to environmental protection and enhancement in England. The Environment Agency has major responsibilities in flood management, water resources and quality, climate change, land quality, chemicals, pollution prevention and control, waste, conservation and biodiversity, fisheries conservation, air quality and navigation.