Spending Review and DEFRA

DEFRA will see its departmental budget cut by 10% for the 2015-16 year compared to the amount allocated for 2014-15.  The announcement came in the Chancellor’s Spending Review where most government departments saw their budgets cut in order to fund additional spending on infrastructure projects.  In 2011-12 DEFRA’s non-capital budget stood at £2.2bn.  By 2014-15 it will be £1.7bn, and £1.6 the year after.  The DEFRA Secretary, Owen Paterson, was one of the last Minsiters to agree on the cuts.  He argued that DEFRA had borne a disproportionate share of earlier reductions and should be spared a further squeeze.  Capital spending by the Department, including flood defence works, has been spared any cuts.

DEFRA is less than universally loved by many farmers, so they may not be too worried that its funding is reducing.  Indeed, they may hope that it results in less government interference in their businesses.  This is probably unlikley, but there could be a more direct impact of the cuts.  With a lower budget, DEFRA will have less money available to contribute to Rural Development funding.  This will mean that either the availability of funding for agri-environment and other schemes will be limited, or high rates of modulation will be imposed (or perhaps even both).   Looking wider, the ability of the Department to fund things such as the expansion of TB culls could be constrained.