“Re-creating Defra” by investing more capital despite a 15 per cent budget cut is among environment minister Liz Truss’ key priorities for the coming year.
Speaking at the politics session at today’s Oxford Farming Conference (6 January), Truss said she will use the increased capital funding, which now totals £2.6 billion, to upgrade its plant and animal disease response, improve flood defences and modernise the organisation.
Defra will also deliver a new marketing campaign to promote British produce, conducted alongside the levy boards, Truss said, and she also promised to end European Commission plans to force farmers to put up posters advertising the fact they receive EU subsidies.
Elsewhere, she announced that the planned Great British Food Unit, designed to increase exports, had started work this week, and under plans to decentralise decision-making, farmers will soon be able to clear their own ditches, having previously needed to ask permission.
“We are making efficiency savings of 15 per cent at the same time as putting more money into capital funding – a 12 per cent increase to £2.7billion over the next five years,” she said. “That means we can invest in technology and digital systems, growing our exports, world-leading science, protection against animal and plant disease and, of course, flood defences.
“In the future, we will be more integrated and less siloed. Defra and its agencies like the Environment Agency (EA), APHA, the RPA and Natural England will in the future be operating towards clear-shared goals. There will be one back office so we can save money on admin and spend more on the frontline.”
Shadow secretary Kerry McCarthy also spoke during the sessions and she was in favour of boosting the powers of Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) Christine Tacon. She said she recognised that many farmers are running at a loss in a “broken market”.
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