Committees

Work of the Department and its arm’s-length bodies

Inquiry

A key responsibility of the EFRA Committee is to scrutinise the policy, spending and administration of Defra and its arms-length bodies. To achieve this, the Committee will hold regular evidence sessions with the Secretary of State, Defra Ministers and senior officials from both the Department and the organisations for which it is responsible. The transcripts of those sessions and related correspondence and written evidence are collected here. 

The Committee will also call for evidence on a regular basis and produce iterative and focused reports on this subject.  

Topics for scrutiny may include, but are not limited to: 

  • the effectiveness of the regulatory landscape, 
  • the capacity of Defra’s regulators to monitor the environment, enforce environmental protections, and take into account other duties, such as those for “growth”,   
  • the project management, deployment and overall delivery of government-funded projects, programmes and initiatives, 
  • services delivered and other direct responsibilities of arms-length bodies, such as environmental permits and management of protected and forested areas, 
  • the accessibility of Defra and its arms-length bodies to citizens, including engagement with local expertise and complaints procedures, 
  • relationships with local government and making devolution work for Defra’s policy areas. 

The Committee will also consider the effectiveness of the machinery of government when it comes to important cross-government issues such as: 

  • climate adaptation and mitigation, 
  • environmental protection, 
  • nature recovery and nature-based solutions to societal problems that are within the remit of other departments, 
  • the impact of trade policy on domestic industry and environmental targets, 
  • impacts on and opportunities for rural and remote communities; particularly the Government’s ‘rural proofing’ policy, 
  • working with local government, 
  • responding to emergency incidents such as flooding and other extreme weather events. 

If you have information or evidence which may be of interest to the Committee, please contact: efracom@parliament.uk.  

 

Upcoming events

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Past events

Tuesday 20 May 2025
10:30am Private
11:00am Public
Work of the Department and its arm’s-length bodies - Oral evidence 20 May 2025
11:00am
  • Rt Hon Steve Reed MP (Secretary of State at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
  • David Hill (Director General for Strategy and Water at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Emily Miles (Director General for Food, Biosecurity and Trade at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 26 November 2024
9:30am Private
10:00am Public
Work of the Department and its arm’s-length bodies - Oral evidence 26 November 2024
10:00am
  • David Black (Chief Executive at Ofwat)
  • Helen Campbell (Senior Director for Sector Performance at Ofwat)
  • Chris Walters (Senior Director, Price Review at Ofwat)
Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 19 November 2024
2:00pm Private
2:30pm Public
Work of the Department and its arm’s-length bodies - Oral evidence 19 November 2024
2:30pm
  • Rt Hon Steve Reed MP (Secretary of State at The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Emily Miles (Director for General for Food, Biosecurity and Trade at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
  • David Hill (Director General for Strategy and Water at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
The Grimond Room, Portcullis House

Contact us

We can’t usually help you with an individual problem or a specific complaint.

  • Email: efracom@parliament.uk
  • Phone: General enquiries: 0207 219 1119 | Press enquiries: 020 7219 3138
  • Address: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA