Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Not to be confused with Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a department of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the entire United Kingdom. Concordats set out agreed frameworks for co operation, between it and the Scottish Government,^[2] Welsh Government^[3] and Northern Ireland Executive,^[4] which have devolved responsibilities for these matters in their respective nations.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department overview
Formed	2001; 22 years ago (2001)
Preceding agencies	Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Jurisdiction	Government of the United Kingdom
Headquarters	2 Marsham Street, London
Annual budget	£2.2 billion (current) & £400 million (capital) for 2011-12^[1]
Secretary of State responsible	The Rt Hon. Steve Barclay MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department executive	Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary
Child agencies	Animal and Plant Health Agency Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Rural Payments Agency Veterinary Medicines Directorate
Website	defra.gov.uk

Defra also leads for the United Kingdom on agricultural, fisheries and environmental matters in international negotiations on sustainable development and climate change, although a new Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008 to take over the last responsibility; later transferred to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy following Theresa May's appointment as Prime Minister in July 2016.

Creation

The department was formed in June 2001, under the leadership of Margaret Beckett, when the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) was merged with part of the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) and with a small part of the Home Office.

It was created after the perceived failure of MAFF to deal adequately with an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease. The department had about 9,000 core personnel, as of January 2008^[update].^[5]

In October 2008, the climate team at Defra was merged with the energy team from the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), to create the Department of Energy and Climate Change, then headed by Ed Miliband.^[6]

Ministers

As of 14 November 2023 the Defra Ministers are as follows:^[7]

Portrait	Minister	Office	Portfolio
	The Rt Hon. Steve Barclay MP	Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	Strategy and overall responsibility for departmental policy; water quality and security; food production and security; economic growth; international relations; senior appointments.
	The Rt Hon. Mark Spencer MP	Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries	Farming; food; fisheries; agri-science and innovation; trade; lead for Rural Payments Agency (RPA), Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), Marine Management Organisation (MMO), Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), and the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA)
	Rebecca Pow MP	Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Environmental Quality and Resilience	Floods; water; resources and waste; air quality and noise; environment regulation, including chemicals; lead for Environment Agency (EA)
	Robbie Moore MP	Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Environment and Land Use	Domestic natural environment, wildlife and land use; climate change adaptation; tree planting and forestry; landscapes, including National Parks and AONBs; access including rights of way and coastal paths; lead for Natural England, Forestry Commission and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)
	The Rt Hon. The Lord Benyon PC	Minister of State for Biosecurity, Marine and Rural Affairs	Biosecurity and borders; Northern Ireland; animal welfare; marine and oceans; Defra delivery of Carbon Budgets and Net Zero; green finance; international nature and wildlife; rural affairs; lead for Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), The Animal Health and Welfare Board for England (AHWBE) and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

The Permanent Secretary is Tamara Finkelstein, who replaced Clare Moriarty in 2019.^[8][9]

Responsibilities

Defra is responsible for British Government policy in the following areas^[10]

• Adaptation to global warming
• Agriculture
• Air quality
• Animal health and animal welfare
• Biodiversity
• Conservation
• Chemical substances and pesticides
• Fisheries
• Flooding
• Food
• Forestry
• Hunting
• Inland waterways
• Land management
• Marine policy
• National parks
• Noise
• Plant health
• Rural development
• Sustainable development
• Trade and the environment
• Waste management
• Water management

Some policies apply to England alone due to devolution, while others are not devolved and therefore apply to the United Kingdom as a whole.

Executive agencies

The department's executive agencies are:^[11]

• Animal and Plant Health Agency (formerly the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, formed by a merger of Animal Health and the Veterinary Laboratories Agency,^[12] and later parts of the Food and Environment Research Agency. Animal Health had launched on 2 April 2007 and was formerly the State Veterinary Service)^[13]
• Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
• Rural Payments Agency
• Veterinary Medicines Directorate

Key delivery partners

The department's key delivery partners are:^[14]

• Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board
• Consumer Council for Water
• Environment Agency
• Fera Science (formerly the Food and Environment Research Agency, now a company in which Defra holds a 25% stake)
• Forestry Commission (a non-ministerial government department including Forest Enterprise and Forest Research)
• Joint Nature Conservation Committee
• Marine Management Organisation (launched on 1 April 2010, incorporates the former Marine and Fisheries Agency)^[15]
• National Forest Company
• Natural England (launched on 11 October 2006, formerly English Nature and elements of the Countryside Agency and the Rural Development Service)^[16]
• Ofwat (a non-ministerial government department formally known as the Water Services Regulation Authority)
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
• Sea Fish Industry Authority

A full list of departmental delivery and public bodies may be found on the Defra website.^[17]

Defra in the English regions

 

A Countryside Stewardship Scheme sign near a new stile a Cratfield, Suffolk

Policies for environment, food and rural affairs are delivered in the regions by Defra's executive agencies and delivery bodies, in particular Natural England, the Rural Payments Agency, Animal Health and the Marine Management Organisation.

Defra provides grant aid to the following flood and coastal erosion risk management operating authorities:

• Environment Agency
• Internal drainage boards
• Local authorities

Aim and strategic priorities

Defra's overarching aim is sustainable development, which is defined as "development which enables all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life without compromising the quality of life of future generations." The Secretary of State wrote in a letter to the Prime Minister that he saw Defra's mission as enabling a move toward what the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has called "one planet living".^[18]

Under this overarching aim, Defra has five strategic priorities:^[19]

• Climate change and energy.
• Sustainable consumption and production, including responsibility for the National Waste Strategy.
• Protecting the countryside and natural resource protection.
• Sustainable rural communities.
• A sustainable farming and food sector including animal health and welfare.

Defra Headquarters are at 2, Marsham Street, London.^[20] It is also located at Nobel House, 17, Smith Square, London.^[21]

See also

• Agriculture in the United Kingdom
• Air Quality Expert Group
• Badger culling in the United Kingdom
• Cattle Health Initiative
• Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (Northern Ireland)
• Energy policy in the United Kingdom
• Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
• Environmental contract
• List of atmospheric dispersion models
• National Bee Unit
• National Collection of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria
• New Technologies Demonstrator Programme
• Nicola Spence
• Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department
• UK Dispersion Modelling Bureau
• United Kingdom budget
• Waste Implementation Programme

References

1. Budget 2011 (PDF). London: HM Treasury. 2011. p. 48. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
2. . Archived from the original on 8 February 2011.
3. . Archived from the original on 23 February 2006.
4. . Archived from the original on 20 November 2008.
5. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2008.
6. Harrabin, Roger (3 October 2008). "Marrying energy demand and supply". BBC News. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
7.   This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence: "Our ministers". GOV.UK. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
8. [1], Defra
9. "Appointment of new Permanent Secretary at Defra". GOV.UK. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
10. "Cabinet Office List of Ministerial Responsibilities, July 2010". Cabinetoffice.gov.uk. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
11. "List of ministerial responsibilities (including Executive Agencies and Non-Ministerial Departments)" (PDF). Retrieved 18 November 2011.
12. "DEFRA Agencies shake-up", news release by Defra, 29 June 2010 (from the Defra website)
13. "Launch of Animal Health" 22 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine, news release by Animal Health, 2 April 2007 (from the Defra website)
14. "Working with others: Defra's delivery partners" 5 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Chapter 6, Departmental Report 2006 (from the Defra website)
15. "Marine Management Organisation established" 2 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine, press release by Defra, 1 April 2010 (from the Defra website.
16. "New champion for the environment launches" 10 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine, press release by Natural England, 11 October 2006 (from the Natural England website)
17. . Archived from the original on 29 April 2007.
18. "My priorities for Defra" 10 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine, David Miliband's letter to the Prime Minister, 11 July 2006
19. "Delivering the Essentials of Life: Defra’s Five Year Strategy" 6 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Annex B
20. "Defra staff set for Marsham Street move as leases expire". Civil Service World. 24 June 2020.
21. "London Nobel House DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS". governmentbuildings.co.uk.

External links

• Defra's official website
• Fera - Executive agency of DEFRA
• JNCC's website
• Air Quality Expert Group 6 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine

Video clips

• DEFRA YouTube channel