Last week DEFRA announced its vision “to unleash the economic potential of food and farming, nature and the countryside, champion the environment and provide security against floods, animal and plant diseases and other hazards”.
The total DEFRA budget for 2015/16 is £2.0bn,this includes £1.5 billion resource Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) and £0.5 billion capital DEL.
In order to meet its vision from 2015 – 2020, DEFRA has 6 clear objectives:
- A cleaner, healthier environment, benefiting people and the economy
- A world-leading food and farming industry
- A thriving rural economy, contributing to national prosperity and wellbeing
- A nation better-protected against floods, animal and plant diseases and other hazards, with strong response and recovery capabilities
- Excellent delivery on time and to budget and with outstanding value for money
- Delivering efficiently; an organisation continually striving to be the best, focused on outcomes and constantly challenging itself
Tony Rimmer of Rostons quoted “The value of food and drink exports in the UK in 2015 was £2.0bn, it will of course be beneficial to the UK if this increases, however only if any financial benefit is passed down the supply chain to the producers. DEFRA is also aiming to reduce the total annual number of farm inspections by 20,000 by 2020, without compromising compliance. A number of inspections are desktop exercises and may not involve a physical farm visit, this is not a reason for claimants not to meet the cross compliance regulations”.
For further information contact the Rostons office on 01829 773000