Paul Kissack appointed as the new Permanent Secretary of DEFRA

Paul Kissack was appointed Permanent Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 13 October 2025.

From 2020 until 2025, Paul Kissack was Group Chief Executive of the Joseph Roundtree Foundation and of the Joseph Roundtree Housing Trust.

Incoming Permanent Secretary, Paul Kissack said:

I am delighted to be rejoining the Civil Service and honoured to be returning to Defra. Restoring the natural environment and enhancing the sustainable use of natural resources – through cleaner water, greener land, purer air and reduced waste – is fundamental to a strong economy and delivering the Plan for Change.

And the work of the Defra Group – from food security to bio-security to flood defences – is critical to ensuring our national resilience and protecting the public. I am hugely looking forward to working with colleagues across the Defra Group, across Government and the many stakeholders who share these ambitions for our country in the years ahead.