Defra is one of four government departments to have provisionally agreed to cut its spending by an average of 30% over the next four years, according to reports.

Defra officials reached an agreement with chancellor george Osborne about the extent of cuts the department will suffer under government austerity plans. Defra already runs on one of the lowest budgets in whitehall, and manages a number of arms-length bodies.

Cuts to Defra under the coalition government were already amongst the steepest proportional to its initial running costs (30 percent compared to an average of 19 percent across other government departments in 2010, with further cuts inflicted in 2013).

On Monday morning, the BBC reported that deals had been made by four government departments (the treasury and departments for transport and local government, as well as Defra) ahead of the government spending review later this month.

Commenting on the reports, Sean Wensley, president of the British Veterinary Association, said, "In recent years we have already seen the impact of significant cuts to Defra's budget on veterinary fees for TB testing and other OV services and on disease surveillance. Our major concern is that more cuts in these areas could further erode the UK's preparedness for a disease outbreak, which could have massive implications for animal and human health, animal welfare and the reputation of UK agriculture.
 
"The Defra Secretary of State has repeatedly said that animal health and welfare is a priority so we would urge Defra to protect animal health and welfare budgets relative to other areas of spend and ensure that short-term savings do not lead to serious adverse consequences in the longer term."

The chancellor is expected to announce the agreements later today.