England and Wales have a good record in containing and eradicating major outbreaks of plant pests and diseases, according to a report today by the National Audit Office. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has a key role to play in maintaining this good record but there are several ways in which it […]
A National Audit Office report to Parliament today on the handling of the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak showed that the outbreak cost the public sector over £3 billion and the private sector more than £5 billion. According to head of the NAO Sir John Bourn, lessons to be learned from the outbreak, unprecedented in […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food’s administration of the Arable Area Payments Scheme*. This is the largest European Union Common Agricultural Policy scheme in England with payments of £1.1 billion each year to some 47,000 farmers. The report examines the […]
A National Audit Office report today highlights the lessons arising from the case of a farmer who committed one of the largest known frauds by an individual claiming subsidy under Common Agricultural Policy schemes in England. In October 2000 Joseph Bowden was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment for nine charges relating to false accounting and […]
The report focuses on how the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs is preparing to exit from the EU. It is part of a series of NAO briefings on the key bodies in the centre of government and the major spending departments that have to deliver Exit programmes.
20 December 2017
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on the problems in the administration of the Sheep Annual Premium Scheme in England which led to the European Commission refusing to reimburse £27 million in respect of payments to farmers in England for 1993 to 1996. The report examines how the […]
This briefing has been prepared for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee to provide an overview of the work and performance of the Department in the financial year 2008-09 and subsequent months.
Executive Agencies can improve how they set targets and do more to ensure that their initiatives are leading to better delivery of services, Sir John Bourn, the Head of the National Audit Office reported today. He presented to Parliament four reports which assess how agencies are seeking to improve public services. Executive Agencies need to […]
Amyas Morse, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), has qualified his opinion on the 2015-16 accounts of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.