The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a ministerial department of the

government of the United Kingdom His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

. It is responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards,

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, fisheries and rural communities in the entire United Kingdom. Concordats set out agreed frameworks for cooperation, between it and the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...

and Northern Ireland Executive, which have devolved responsibilities for these matters in their respective nations. 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 The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the government of the United Kingdom created on 3 October 2008, by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the ...

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 The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

. 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, . 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

, then headed by Ed Miliband.

Ministers

Defra ministers are as follows, with cabinet members in bold: On 8 and 9 July 2024, the appointments of

Daniel Zeichner Daniel Stephen Zeichner (born 9 November 1956) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Cambridge since 2015. He has served as Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs since July 2024. ...

as Minister of State and Emma Hardy MP and and Baroness Hayman of Ullock as Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State was announced, but initially without details of specific portfolios within Defra. The

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

is Tamara Finkelstein, who replaced Clare Moriarty in 2019.

Responsibilities

Defra is responsible for British Government policy in the following areas: * Adaptation to global warming *

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

Air quality Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

* Animal health and

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

Biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

* Conservation *

Chemical substance A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be com ...

s and

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all p ...

s * Fisheries * Flooding *

Food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

Hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

* Inland waterways *

Land management Land management is the process of managing the land use, use and development of land resources. Those resources are used for a variety of purposes for example agriculture, forestry, water resource management, Human settlement, human settlements an ...

* Marine policy *

National parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

* Plant health *

Rural development Rural development is the process of improving the quality of life, quality of life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. Often, rural regions have experienced rural povert ...

Sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

* Trade and the environment *

Waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...

* Water management Some policies apply to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

alone due to

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...

, while others are not devolved and therefore apply to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

as a whole.

Executive agencies

The department's executive agencies are: * 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, 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) * Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science * Rural Payments Agency * Veterinary Medicines Directorate

Key delivery partners

The department's key delivery partners are: * Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board * Consumer Council for Water *

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

* Fera Science (formerly the Food and Environment Research Agency, now a company in which Defra holds a 25% stake) *

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

non-ministerial government department Non-ministerial government departments (NMGDs) are a type of Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom government that deal with matters for which direct political over ...

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) * National Forest Company * Natural England (launched on 11 October 2006, formerly

English Nature English Nature was the Executive agency, United Kingdom government agency that promoted the Conservation (ethic), conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006. It was a non-departmental public body ...

and elements 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 bo ...

and the Rural Development Service) * Office for Environmental Protection * Ofwat (a

formally known as the Water Services Regulation Authority) *

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

* Sea Fish Industry Authority A full list of departmental delivery and public bodies may be found on the Defra website.

Defra in England

Countryside Stewardship Scheme sign - geograph

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 Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...

risk management operating authorities: *

* 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". Under this overarching aim, Defra has five strategic priorities: * 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 aims to procure a significant proportion of the goods and services it requires from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in line with government policy on the SME agenda, and has also encouraged its major contractors to engage with SMEs. Defra's headquarters are at 2, Marsham Street, London. It is also located at Nobel House, 17, Smith Square, London.

References

Video clips

DEFRA YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Agricultural organisations based in England

Environment of England Ministries established in 2001 2001 establishments in the United Kingdom Forestry agencies in the United Kingdom