Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs written question – answered at on 9 July 2026.
Aphra Brandreth
Conservative, Chester South and Eddisbury
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of civil service personnel work on farming matters and on environmental matters.
Stephen Morgan
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Staff across Defra and its arm's-length bodies work directly or indirectly to support a range of policy areas, including farming, food production, environmental protection, nature recovery, water, air quality and rural communities. As a result, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of personnel into exclusively farming or environmental categories.
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
