Conservation of the natural environment
This review was carried out between April and June 2000. The subjects covered included wildlife and landscape conservation, trees, woodland and forestry, agri environment, moorland and rivers. The review included a comparison of staff costs and overall service delivery costs with other agencies and the private sector.
Consultation/questionnaires were sent out to user groups and partner organisations, 386 responses were received (46.6%). The main findings of the review were:
- There was strong support for the Authority's conservation schemes and a desire to see them continue and expand.
- 73% of respondents were satisfied/very satisfied with response times, 85% with liaison arrangements and 72% with advice and information provision.
- An assessment of the service indicated that awareness raising, education and information about the natural environment was the area where it needed to be improved. This was supported by comments from consultees.
The review resulted in the production of Service Delivery Plans for key natural environment areas of work. These contain a total of 113 objectives aimed at improving services. To date (July 2003) 45 have been achieved in full.
