Defra Secretary to face MPs in first session of new EFRA Committee

15 Nov 2024

Evidence session

The Work of the Department and its Arm’s Length Bodies

Tuesday 19 November, 2.30pm, Committee room 6, Palace of Westminster

Watch live on parliamentlive.tv

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rt Hon Steve Reed MP, will make his first appearance before the EFRA Committee in a public evidence session on Tuesday 19 November at 2.30pm.

MPs will question the Secretary of State on announcements made in the Autumn Budget, including on the Government’s proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and the concerns amongst the farming community about the impact of these changes.

Members will also raise the issue of the changed timetable for the introduction of Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) to replace the Basic Payments Scheme (BPS) and ask how the Department will provide long-term security for the farming community.

The Committee will also examine current issues across the water sector, questioning the Environment Secretary on the Independent Water Commission launched last month and specific issues surrounding the current state of Thames Water.

The session next Tuesday will give the Committee, made up of cross-party Members of Parliament and chaired by Alistair Carmichael MP, a chance to question the Secretary of State on a range of other key issues, including food security, the likely impact of the Autumn Budget on food price inflation, the future of the UK’s fisheries, and the UK’s biosecurity.

The Chair of the EFRA Committee, Alistair Carmichael MP, said:

“There are a host of challenges facing farmers and rural communities across the country. This first evidence session of the newly constituted EFRA Committee will be an opportunity for us to question the Secretary of State about the announcements in the Budget which directly affect these groups, alongside a number of other major issues including food security, biosecurity and the problems in the water sector.”

Witnesses

From 14.30 on 19 November:

• The Rt Hon Steve Reed MP, Secretary of State, DEFRA

• Emily Miles, Director General for Food, Biosecurity and Trade, DEFRA

• David Hill, Director General for Strategy and Water, DEFRA