Cuts at Defra have led to the department haemorrhaging staff, according to its annual report.

Proportional to its initial running costs, Defra has faced the most significant cuts of any government department since the Coalition government took power in 2010. Former environment secretary Liz Truss accepted a further 15% cut to the department’s budget over five years in autumn 2015, though civil society groups and committees of MPs have issued warnings over the potential effects this could have, given Defra’s responsibility for numerous arms-length bodies and role coordinating in hugely important areas of work such as flood defence, environmental protection and animal disease surveillance.  

According to Defra’s latest statistics report, published last week, the department has lost over 900 members of staff in the past year. In 2016 Defra had 21,964, compared to 22,875 in 2015. Over 200 staff involved in ‘water and flood risk management’ were laid off, despite the sensitivity of their work, given the widespread flooding seen in recent years, and the government’s claims to be spending record amounts on flood protection and prevention.

Government reports, including those of the EFRA Committee, which oversees the department’s work, have highlighted low morale amongst Defra staff and a lack of confidence in the department’s leadership in recent years. Last week’s report promises that Defra executives will be taking workers views into greater consideration and “reaching out” to employees through ‘town hall’ style events and online sessions.

The report notes that Defra only has a limited pool of workers with commercial experience or who are tech-savvy, and warns that “There will also be challenges to retaining the right skills and experience as overall staffing levels are reduced.”

Farming groups, and most recently Lords debating the impacts of the Brexit vote on the farm sector in Parliament, have expressed concern that losses of staff at Defra, either to budget cuts or the newly formed Brexit department, will hamper the department’s ability to deliver essential services and cope with Britain’s exit from the EU, as the farming and environment legislation the department deals with overwhelmingly comes from Europe.

In her foreword to the report, Defra's permanent secretary Clare Moriarty says she is keen to modernise and streamline the department, but acknowledges the huge tasks being faced, including flooding at the end of 2015 and in January 2016, the implementation of the new Common Agricultural Policy and Defra’s Bovine TB Eradication Strategy.