Recent reports suggest that Defra has cut around 750 staff from the department over the last year, representing around ten per cent of the total headcount in order to meet wider government spending targets. It also follows the Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ average 2.7 per cent cut to Defra’s day-to-day budget per year announced as part of the spending review.
According to The Telegraph, the move is expected to save more than £30 million annually in salary expenses, which will be ‘funnelled back into projects to clean up Britain’s rivers’. Those savings are expected to be redirected into projects aimed at improving water quality across the United Kingdom.
Over the last decade, Defra has expanded to become one of the largest Whitehall departments in terms of staff numbers: climbing from roughly 1,700 employees in 2016 to more than 7,300 by last year.
A Labour spokesman told reporters, “With Steve Reed’s leadership we are cutting waste and ensuring that taxpayers’ money is spent on where it matters.” However, according to another report, ‘Others voiced concerns about what the cuts mean for food policy. Defra published a food strategy earlier this summer but now the hard work of delivering a better food system starts – and that requires buy-in from across Whitehall.’
While Defra has not provided a statement to the media, it has not refuted the numbers stated in the Telegraph report.
Last October, Environment Agency staff were told that the regulator would by cutting its employee base due to reductions in revenue streams. In total, the EA is aiming to reduce headcount by 1,700 positions within a year.
