Cuts could harm DEFRA crisis response, warn MPs
MPs are warning that “massive” budget cuts could harm DEFRA’s ability to respond to emergencies such as the current flooding across the UK.
Since 2010, DEFRA has seen its budgets slashed by £500m and the department is facing further cuts of £300m over the next two years.
In a report published on Tuesday (7 January), the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) is warning that the planned cuts could affect DEFRA’s ability to deal with crises such as flooding, the recent horsemeat scandal and ash dieback tree disease.
EFRA committee chairman and Conservative MP Anne McIntosh called on the government to explain how these cuts will be managed.
“DEFRA is a small ministry facing massive budget cuts and which relies on a large number of arms-length bodies to deliver many significant areas of policy,” she said.
“Ministers must clarify how further budget cuts of over £300m over the coming two years will impact on the funding provided to these agencies and the ability of the department to respond to emergencies.”
The MPs also criticised DEFRA’s “lack of transparency” over receiving private sector funding in the future to help carry out flood defence work, such as essential maintenance on main watercourses.
As tens of thousands of acres farmland across the UK lay under water on Monday (6 January), DEFRA secretary Owen Paterson has insisted that flood management is a “real priority” for the government.
“Ministers must clarify how further budget cuts of over £300m over the coming two years will impact on the funding provided to these agencies and the ability of the department to respond to emergencies.”
Ann McIntosh, EFRA committee chairman
The government said the budget cuts would not affect funding for frontline flood defence schemes. It has committed to spend £370m on new flood defence schemes in 2015-16, rising to £400m in 2021.
But Ms McIntosh is concerned that DEFRA’s plans to slash 1,700 jobs by October from the Environment Agency, a DEFRA-funded government department, will leave it vulnerable to cope with future flooding episodes.
“Recent flooding events over the Christmas and new year period reinforce the committee’s concerns about the cuts to the DEFRA budget and how these will be realised. The Environment Agency is set to lose 1,700 jobs in the next 12 months.”
Responding to the report, a DEFRA spokeswoman said: “Partnership funding is helping to deliver better protection against flooding to more communities. So far the fund is expected to deliver around £148m of contributions up to 2015.
“This is in addition to the £2.3bn we are spending on tackling the risk of flooding and coastal erosion. Together with contributions from other partners, this is more money than ever before.”
In its departmental annual report, the EFRA committee also noted that other challenges for agricultural policy facing DEFRA in 2014 include the badger cull, the implementation of a new digital payments system for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and proposals on biodiversity offsetting.
Meanwhile, the Environment Agency has issued widespread flood warnings for the UK, especially for the south and south-west regions, and the Met Office has forecast more heavy rain over the coming days as the bad weather showed no sign of any let-up.
Met Office forecaster Nicky Maxey said: “We have still got warnings for heavy rain across parts of the south of the country. That remains until 6pm tomorrow [Wednesday].
“Apart from that, we are looking at the situation easing up a bit and returning to normal winter weather.
“Towards the end of this month, the indications are that temperatures will drop slightly. But it is too early to say whether this will mean snow.”