Department will be scrutinised by Efra committee on its strategy and reaction to incidents
New Defra permanent secretary Paul Kissack will be questioned on perceived shortcomings and examples of poor communication with the department’s stakeholders in a House of Commons Efra select committee meeting on 3 March.
Trailing the session, the committee noted that Defra has seen an eight per cent headcount reduction since July 2024, with a further five per cent staffing cut planned for 2025/26. Staff turnover hit 10 per cent in 2024/25 amid concerns of uncompetitive pay compared with the private sector.
Kissack, who took up the post in October 2025, will be joined by three other senior Defra officials – director general for strategy and water David Hill, director general for EU reset and trade Emma Bourne, and chief financial officer Iain King.
They are likely to be questioned on issues around Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes and Sustainable Farming Incentives (SFI), which both experienced sudden closures or gaps in support.
The cross-party committee is also likely to raise examples of delays to major strategy documents, including the Farming Roadmap, the Land Use Framework and the Circular Economy Strategy. Defra has said these documents are due this year, having been expected in 2025.
During a visit to fishing businesses in Brixham in 2025, the Efra committee said it heard complaints of fragmented policymaking, despite rising regulatory demands and increasing workloads for small boats. Funding schemes were also criticised for being poorly administered, with larger operators learning of schemes earlier and securing advantage.
MPs are also likely to raise concerns about Defra’s capacity to respond, and work cross-government, when major incidents occur such as livestock disease outbreaks, flooding or environmental disasters.
