The Rural Development Service (RDS) was formerly part of the
UK Government
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's
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United K ...
(Defra). It ceased to exist on 1 October 2006 following the creation of
Natural England
Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...
.
History
The RDS was created in 2001, when the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency merged with the then
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...
's regional service centres.
The body was charged with the implementation of the
England Rural Development Programme England Rural Development Programme is the instrument by which the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ( Defra) fulfills its rural development obligations in England, as set out by the European Union. It is derived primarily from ...
(ERDP), as well as a range of other rural services, placing the agency at the forefront of change in rural areas. The RDS employed 1,500, working with rural partners and local people to improve the environment, promote the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity and develop stronger rural economies and communities.
Following a review by
Christopher Haskins
Christopher Robin Haskins, Baron Haskins (born 30 May 1937, Dublin) is an Irish businessman, life peer, and former member of the British Labour Party.
Early life
The son of a Protestant farmer, he attended St Columba's College, Dublin, and Tr ...
, enacted in the
Natural Environment and Rural Communities 2006Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006
in March 2006, the agri-environment element of the RDS was integrated with English Nature
English Nature was the United Kingdom government agency that promoted the conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006. It was a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Environmen ...
and most of the Countryside Agency
The Countryside Agency was a statutory body set up in England in 1999 with the task of improving the quality of the rural environment and the lives of those living in it. The agency was dissolved in 2006 and its functions dispersed among other bod ...
on 1 October 2006 to form Natural England
Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...
. Smaller elements of the RDS went to the State Veterinary Service
The State Veterinary Service (SVS) was, from 1938 to 2007, an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was the government's delivery agent, respons ...
and the Regional Development Agency in each English region.
References
External links
Official website
archived in April 2006
{{Authority control
Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom
Economy of England
Environment of England
Agriculture in England
Organizations disestablished in 2006
Rural development in Europe
2001 establishments in England
Government agencies established in 2001
Rural society in the United Kingdom
2006 disestablishments in the United Kingdom