The Broads Authority is the agency which has statutory responsibility for the Broads in England. Originally, the Nature Conservancy Council (now Natural England), pressed for a special authority to manage the Broads which had been neglected for a long time. In 1978, the forerunner to the present-day Broads Authority was established by the Countryside Commission (now also Natural England). Ten years later, it had become clear that a statutory body was needed, and a special Act of Parliament, the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988 (referred to as the Broads Act) made the Broads Authority into a special statutory authority which gave it parity yet establishing key differences with national park authorities.