Barbara, Baroness Young of Old Scone, has been a Member of the House of Lords since 1997 with special interests in the environment, woods and trees, agriculture, land use, planning, natural resources and climate change. She has held a variety of environmental leadership roles including Chief Executive of RSPB, Chairman of English Nature, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency and Chair of the Woodland Trust and the Royal Veterinary College.
Barbara has a range of voluntary positions with the South Georgia Heritage Trust, Chartered Institute of Environmental Management, RSPB, Bird Life International, Flora and Fauna International. She is a Commissioner on the Food, Farming and the Countryside Commission, Chair of the Climate and Environment Forum and Director of Peers for the Planet.
Barbara was also founder chair of the Care Quality Commission, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, Deputy Chairman of the BBC and Chair of the Royal Veterinary College.
Baroness Young is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of Sydney Sussex College Cambridge. She became Chair of the Forestry Commission in 2026.
