Emma Reynolds, Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, will make her first appearance before the House of Commons, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee (EFRA) in an evidence session on the work of the Department and its arm’s length bodies at 14.30 on 11 November.
She was appointed to the role in September, succeeding Steve Reed MP. Committee Members will be keen to discern the new Secretary of State’s priorities for her department and if there is to be any change of approach to key challenges.
The Committee’s work has been instrumental in calls to reform the water sector. Members will seek an update on Government plans following the publication of the Independent Water Commission’s final report, and the next steps for the establishing of a new ‘super regulator’ for the sector.
Recently the Department has been slow to publish several important strategies and reviews relating to the future of farming - the Committee says it will press for the status of their publication.
It will also explore how the Government is supporting fishers, some of whom feel let down by recent Government decisions resulting from its negotiations with the EU. Members will also raise the practical implications of an SPS agreement and ‘dynamic alignment’ with the EU. Meanwhile the Department’s workforce numbers continue to drop at a time when Defra is taking on more responsibilities, including on biosecurity at the border. The committee will aim to obtain further information on all these matters.
Witnesses on 11 November:
At 14.30:
Emma Reynolds, Secretary of State, DEFRA
David Hill, Director General for Strategy and Water, DEFRA
Emily Miles, Director General for Food, Biosecurity and Trade, DEFRA
In September, the EFRA Committee published two reports on biosecurity at the border. The first covered illegal personal imports of meat and animal products. The second focused on commercial trade and the implementation of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM).
The EFRA Committee’s strategy, which will underpin its work over the course of this Parliament, will focus its work around the following themes:
- The future of farming
- Animal and plant health
- Reforming the water sector
- Fairness in the food supply chain
- Fisheries and the marine environment
- Preventing waste and enabling a circular economy
- Supporting rural and coastal communities
- Weather and climate resilience
Alistair Carmichael (MP for Orkney and Shetland, Liberal Democrat) is Chair of the EFRA Select Committee which is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of Defra and its associated public bodies.
Click here to watch the evidence session live or later on ParliamentLive.tv
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