Defra lacks details on budget cuts, say MPs

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs must be clearer about where budget cuts will fall and the impact this will have on the delivery of policy, a parliamentary committee has said.

In its appraisal of Defra’s performance in 2013­-14, published on 10 February, the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee says: “It is frustrating that our concerns about the lack of clarity surrounding pending budget reductions have not been addressed.” Defra must specify “where the axe will fall”, it says.

The committee also reports that Defra is not transparent enough about how policy delivery is affected by emergency spending such as on winter floods, and highlights inconsistencies in the department’s reported budget.