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The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the governmental department responsible for protection of the environment, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural matters in the United Kingdom (UK). Agreements (concordats) define the frameworks for co-operation between Defra and the Scottish Government,[1] the National Assembly for Wales[2] and with the Northern Ireland Assembly,[3] each of whom have certain responsibilities for these matters in their respective nations. Defra also represents the UK at the European Union (EU) on agricultural, fisheries and environmental matters and in other international negotiations on sustainable development and climate change. However, a new UK Department of Energy and Climate Change was created in October 2008 to assume responsibility for international negotiations involving climate change.
Creation
It 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. The department 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, Template:As of.[4] The department's main building is Nobel House in Smith Square, SW1.
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, headed by Ed Miliband.[5]
Ministers
The current make-up of the department's ministers is:[6]
- Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs — The Rt Hon. Hilary Benn, MP
- Minister of State for Food, Farming and the Environment — Jim Fitzpatrick, MP
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Natural and Marine Environment — Huw Irranca-Davies, MP
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs - Dan Norris, MP
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State - Lord Davies of Oldham
Permanent Secretary
Helen Ghosh is the current Permanent Secretary. The Permanent Secretary is Head of the Department and also Principal Accounting Officer. She has personal responsibility for the overall organisation, management and staffing of the Department and for Department-wide procedures in financial and other matters.
Executive agencies
The executive agencies are:[7]
- Animal Health (launched on 2 April 2007), formerly the State Veterinary Service[8]
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
- Food and Environment Research Agency (until April 2009 was called the Central Science Laboratory)
- Government Decontamination Service
- Marine and Fisheries Agency
- Rural Payments Agency
- Veterinary Laboratories Agency
- Veterinary Medicines Directorate
Key delivery partners
The key delivery partners are:[9]
- British Waterways
- Environment Agency
- Forestry Commission
- Natural England (launched on 11 October 2006), formerly English Nature and elements of the Countryside Agency and the Rural Development Service.[10]
A full list of departmental delivery and public bodies may be found on the Defra website.[11]
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".[12]
Under this overarching aim, Defra has five strategic priorities:[13]
- 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.
See also
- Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (Northern Ireland)
- UK Dispersion Modelling Bureau
- Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department
References
- ↑ Concordat between MAFF and the Scottish Executive.
- ↑ Concordat between MAFF and the Cabinet of the National Assembly for Wales.
- ↑ Devolution: Subject specific Concordat between MAFF and the Scottish Executive on fisheries.
- ↑ Defra departmental report.
- ↑ Harrabin, Roger. Marrying energy demand and supply, BBC News, 3 October 2008. Retrieved on 2009-05-22.
- ↑ Ministerial Team
- ↑ "Defra's Executive Agencies", Chapter 5, Departmental Report 2006 (from the Defra website)
- ↑ "Launch of Animal Health", news release by Animal Health, 2 April 2007 (from the Defra website)
- ↑ "Working with others: Defra's delivery partners", Chapter 6, Departmental Report 2006 (from the Defra website)
- ↑ "New champion for the environment launches", press release by Natural England, 11 October 2006 (from the Natural England website)
- ↑ Delivery Landscape Map.
- ↑ "My priorities for Defra", David Miliband's letter to the Prime Minister, 11 July 2006
- ↑ "Delivering the Essentials of Life: Defra’s Five Year Strategy", Annex B