Expenses
Our approach to expenses and details of expenses claimed by Chair, Board Members, the Chief Executive and Executive Directors.
Our approach to expenses
Members of the Natural England Board and staff are reimbursed for the costs they incur when travelling on the behalf of the organisation’s business, including training courses. The costs covered include accommodation, subsistence (including meals and refreshments) and travel.
Natural England is a national environmental organisation with 39 offices across the 9 government regions, including a head office in Sheffield. We recognise that many of our people need to travel as part of everyday business to ensure that our ambitious corporate plan targets are delivered. We use the most appropriate method of travel which takes into consideration sustainability, convenience and efficiency (for the individual and Natural England) and the cost to the organisation.
We promote a greener working environment in the office and we have sustainable travel policies, including minimising the number of flights taken on behalf of the organisation, to ensure that we are actively pursuing reductions in the carbon emissions arising from our travel behaviours. In 2007 Natural England committed to reducing the carbon emissions made by the organisation by 50%, by December 2010. We are now halfway towards achieving that reduction - we have reduced our overall emissions by 25%.
Staff Remuneration
Remuneration Schedule
The Pre Budget report announced new transparency and accountability measures for public bodies. These measures include the disclosure of salaries over £150,000 per annum and the numbers of staff earning more than £50,000.
Remuneration information for all individuals paid £150,000 per annum or more in £5,000 bands
| Name | Role | Salary (inc taxable allowances etc) | Year to date
31 March 2009 | Year to date
31 March 2010 | Year to date
31 March 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helen Phillips | CEO | £152,900 | N/A | Nil | 1 |
Remuneration information for all individuals paid £50,000 per annum or more in £5,000 increments
| Amount | Year to date
31 March 2009 | Year to date
31 March 2010 | Year to date
31 March 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| £50,000 - £54,999 | 36 | 44 | 52 |
| £55,000 - £59,999 | 19 | 14 | 12 |
| £60,000 - £64,999 | 7 | 13 | 9 |
| £65,000 - £69,999 | 11 | 11 | 4.6 |
| £70,000 - £74,999 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| £75,000 - £79,999 | 2 | 1.4 | 7 |
| £80,000- £84,999 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| £85,000 - £89,999 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| £90,000 - £94,999 | 2 | 1.6 | 1 |
| £95,000 - £99,999 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| £100,000 - £104,999 | 2 | 1 | |
| £105,000 - £109,999 | 2 | ||
| £110,000 - £114,999 | 1 | 1 | |
| £115,000 - £119,999 | |||
| £120,000 - £124,999 | |||
| £125,000 - £129,999 | |||
| £130,000 - £134,999 | |||
| £135,000 - £139,999 | 1 | ||
| £140,000 - £144,999 | |||
| £145,000 - £149,999 | 1 | 1 |
Chair of Natural England
In 2008/09 Natural England was led by our Founding Chair, Sir Martin Doughty (1949-2009) until 22nd January 2009 when, due to illness, the Deputy Chair Poul Christensen, became Acting Chair and was then appointed Chair of Natural England on 3 December 2009.
| Expenses Summary (£) | Sir Martin Doughty | Poul Christensen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr - 21 Jan 09 | 22 Jan - 31 Mar 09 | Total | |
| Travel* | 6333.04 | 1102.55 | 7435.59 |
| Mileage | 72.40 | 245.20 | 317.60 |
| Accommodation | 2226.48 | 290.33 | 2516.81 |
| Subsistence | 191.53 | 56.83 | 248.36 |
| Professional membership | 216.00 | 0.00 | 216.00 |
| Incidental allowances | 100.00 | 0.00 | 100.00 |
| Totals | 9139.45 | 1694.91 | 10834.36 |
* Travel includes costs incurred by Tube, Bus, Toll, Train, Taxi, Ferry, Car parking and Flights.
Board Members
Natural England Board Members, excluding our Chair and Chief Executive who are detailed separately, are appointed by Defra, our sponsoring Department. In 2008-09 Board Members claimed their expenses in line with Defra expense policies (Defra is the government department which sponsors Natural England) . Board Members work a different number of days for Natural England, ranging from 34 days per annum to 55 days in 2008/09.
For 2008-09, Board member claims (excluding Board members who left in Sept 2008) were as follows:
| Expenses Summary (£) | Travel* | Mileage | Accomm-odation | Subsistence | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poul Christensen (April 08-March 09 including period as Acting Chair) | 2,812.70 | 957.10 | 737.05 | 132.43 | 352.50 | 4,991.78 |
| Peter Allen (April 08 –March 09) | 2,713.40 | 1,471.20 | 530.50 | £0.00 | 0.00 | 4,715.10 |
| Sarah Burton (April 08 –March 09) | 404.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 | 0.00 | 414.50 |
| Lynn Crowe (April 08 –March 09) | 1,815.00 | 300.40 | 432.95 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2,548.35 |
| Michael Depledge (April 08 –March 09) | 2,089.38 | 35.20 | 554.29 | 36.80 | 0.00 | 2,715.67 |
| Tony Hams (April 08 –March 09) | 1,984.45 | 134.00 | 568.15 | 54.66 | 5.25 | 2,746.51 |
| David Hill (April 08 –March 09) | 3,285.50 | 3,753.13 | 75.00 | 76.82 | 0.00 | 7,190.45 |
| Doug Hulyer (April 08 –March 09) | 2,840.85 | 502.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3,343.25 |
| David Macdonald (April 08 –March 09) | 1,411.30 | 182.40 | 372.13 | 12.10 | 0.00 | 1,977.93 |
| Christopher Pennell (April 08 –March 09) | 1,498.50 | 298.00 | 246.21 | 64.42 | 1.06 | 2,108.19 |
| Pam Warhurst (April 08 –March 09) | 6,189.30 | 68.00 | 559.89 | 25.45 | 0.00 | 6,842.64 |
| Andy Wilson (Joined Jan 2009) | 76.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 76.10 |
| Catherine Graham-Harrison (Joined Jan 2009) | 117.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 117.20 |
* Travel includes costs incurred by Tube, Bus, Toll, Train, Taxi, Ferry, Car parking and Flights including travel to Board Member interviews for our two new Board Members.
In addition to the expenses outlined above, a total of £31, 016.63 was spent on subsistence and accommodation for the six meetings of the Board in 2008/09 (including 2 site visits and 1 workshop). Natural England has arrangements with travel and accommodation contract providers to access savings and preferential rates on the cost of train tickets and hotel accommodation.
Chief Executive and Executive Directors
The Chief Executive, Dr Helen Phillips, is full-time and is based in Sheffield at our head office. To deliver her role effectively, Helen undertakes a significant amount of travel in order to lead staff based at our 39 offices across the country and to meet with stakeholders.
Half year April - September 2009
The table below ishow the costs associated with the travel, accommodation and subsistence of the Chief Executive for the half year April - September 2009 and for the 6 full-time Executive Directors who are based at different locations across the country.
| Expenses Summary (£) | Dr Helen Phillips | Andrew Wood | Tom Tew | Dave Webster | Jim Smyllie | Robin Tucker | Guy Thompson |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive | Executive Director, Evidence and Analysis | Chief Scientist | Executive Director, Corporate Services | Executive Director, Regional Delivery | Executive Director, National Delivery | Executive Director, External Affairs | |
| Travel * | 8042.59 | 9527.37 | 5600.94 | 5821.00 | 5642.67 | 5666.52 | 3628.37 |
| Mileage | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 244.24 | 0.00 |
| Accommodation | 265.00 | 3707.88 | 2163.62 | 4082.09 | 1131.25 | 1481.05 | 401.05 |
| Subsistence | 159.11 | 0.00 | 3.95 | 211.95 | 290.50 | 128.70 | 0.00 |
| Professional membership | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Incidentals** | 0.00 | 0.00 | 100.00 | 103.49 | 0.00 | 69.90 | 0.00 |
| Total | 8466.70 | 13235.25 | 7868.51 | 10218.53 | 7064.42 | 7590.42 | 4029.42 |
* Travel includes costs incurred by Train, Tube, Bus, Toll, Taxi, Car parking and Flights.
** Incidentals includes gifts, sundry office and IT equipment.
In addition to the expenses outlined above, costs were also incurred by the Chief Executive and Executive Directors on behalf of the organisation at the half year April - September 2009. These are set out in the table below.
| Expenses Summary (£) | Dr Helen Phillips | Andrew Wood | Tom Tew | Dave Webster | Jim Smyllie | Robin Tucker | Guy Thompson |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive | Executive Director, Evidence and Analysis | Chief Scientist | Executive Director, Corporate Services | Executive Director, Regional Delivery | Executive Director, National Delivery | Executive Director, External Affairs | |
| Mobile Phone | 455.37 | 244.49 | 306.17 | 493.60 | 582.75 | 514.15 | 460.81 |
| Internal and External Meetings | 263.01 | 0.00 | 137.92 | 403.91 | 4709.30 | 239.85 | 191.43 |
| Total | 718.38 | 244.49 | 444.09 | 897.51 | 5292.05 | 754.00 | 652.24 |
2008-09
The table below show the costs associated with the travel, accommodation and subsistence of the Chief Executive in 2008-09 and for the 6 full-time Executive Directors who are based at different locations across the country.
| Expenses Summary (£) | Dr Helen Phillips | Andrew Wood | Tom Tew | Dave Webster | Jim Smyllie* | Robin Tucker** | Guy Thompson |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive | Executive Director, Evidence and Analysis | Chief Scientist | Executive Director, Corporate Services | Executive Director, Regional Delivery | Executive Director, National Delivery | Executive Director, External Affairs | |
| Travel *** | 14615.24 | 25015.64 | 9073.01 | 16858.73 | 14517.60 | 8233.74 | 15200.05 |
| Mileage | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.80 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 816.00 | 0.00 |
| Accommodation | 943.66 | 9694.14 | 3251.13 | 10997.44 | 4538.00 | 1417.38 | 1898.79 |
| Subsistence | 1036.52 | 50.10 | 575.05 | 677.00 | 162.99 | 79.70 | 40.90 |
| Professional membership | 514.00 | 0.00 | 359.00 | 175.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Incidentals**** | 92.95 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 154.27 | 0.00 | 251.81 | 44.09 |
| Total | 17202.37 | 34759.88 | 13265.99 | 28862.44 | 19218.59 | 10798.63 | 17183.83 |
* Jim Smyllie started in post on 1st October 2008. Expenses are for the full financial year as prior to being Executive Director for Regional Delivery, Jim was Transition Director for Natural England.
** Robin Tucker started in post on 15th September 2008.
*** Travel includes costs incurred by Train, Tube, Bus, Toll, Taxi, Ferry, Car parking and Flights.
**** Incidentals includes gifts, sundry office and IT equipment (e.g. European adaptor).
In addition to the expenses outlined above, costs were also incurred by the Chief Executive and Executive Directors on behalf of the organisation in 2008/09. These are set out in the table below.
| Expenses Summary (£) | Dr Helen Phillips | Andrew Wood | Tom Tew | Dave Webster | Jim Smyllie* | Robin Tucker** | Guy Thompson |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive | Executive Director, Evidence and Analysis | Chief Scientist | Executive Director, Corporate Services | Executive Director, Regional Delivery | Executive Director, National Delivery | Executive Director, External Affairs | |
| Mobile Phone | 468.41 | 485.35 | 444.59 | 1111.50 | 466.10 | 591.79 | 1262.51 |
| Internal and External Meetings | 2624.46 | 779.88 | 0.00 | 2304.37 | 15914.20 | 305.26 | 1483.28 |
| Total | 3092.87 | 1265.23 | 444.59 | 3415.87 | 16380.30 | 897.05 | 2745.79 |
* Jim Smyllie started in post on 1st October 2008. Prior to being Executive Director for Regional Delivery, Jim was Transition Director for Natural England and incurred costs for a number of internal and external meetings which were met through use of his Government Procurement Card.
** Robin Tucker started in post on 15th September 2008.
A summary of Natural England’s expense policy (link to follow).
