EAC Chair Mary Creagh MP condemns raid on Agency staff to work on Brexit

08 November 2018

The Environmental Audit Committee publishes a letter from Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, confirming that 400 staff have been moved from Natural England, the Environment Agency, Rural Payments Agency, and other Defra agencies to work on Brexit.

• Letter from the Secretary of State ( PDF 1.06 MB)
• Environmental Audit Committee

The letter follows concerns raised by EAC Chair Mary Creagh MP in September about Natural England’s ability to deliver on its statutory responsibilities such as protecting England’s SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest). 

Mary Creagh MP, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee said:

“Preparations for leaving the EU must not get in the way of protecting our treasured natural spaces and iconic British wildlife.

“It is disappointing that Defra has raided staff at Natural England, the organisation responsible for protecting some of the most highly valued wildlife areas in England to prepare for Brexit.

“Natural England must not become a poor relation to Defra. Ministers must ensure the valuable work it does to promote biodiversity is given the priority it deserves.”

The Secretary of State’s letter confirms that more than 400 EU Exit posts created within the central department and the majority have been filled by staff from four agencies including Natural England and the Environment Agency. 50 staff have been moved from Natural England, 20% of whom had been working on SSSIs.

The letter says that staff reallocations will mean some work which is not related to Brexit would stop. This could include work on maintaining England’s SSSIs. It says that other staff would ‘absorb’ work on SSSIs:

“…roles which are not deemed a high priority have been left unfilled and work reallocated or paused for now.”

Figures from Natural England have shown a fall over the last 2 years in the proportion of SSSI’s assessed as being in a favourable condition.

Further information

• About Parliament: Select committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees

Guardian ‘The environment department has been accused of “panic” over Brexit after a leaked document revealed the emergency redeployment of staff to prepare for a no-deal scenario. Managers at the Environment Agency (EA) were given just 24 hours to name 75 staff to be sent to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). In September, the National Audit Office said Michael Gove’s department will not be ready for a no-deal Brexit, with meat and dairy and chemicals exports especially threatened. The loss of staff at the EA has also raised concerns. It is responsible for protecting the country from flooding as well as water, land and air pollution, but lost a significant number of staff between 2010 and 2018. The EA memo, headed “URGENT Action – immediate attention” and leaked to the Guardian, said: “We are gearing up our contingency planning for EU Exit and have been asked by Defra as a matter of urgency to provide staff.” Click here to read more.

Defra have produced a detailed response The Guardian has published a piece focusing Defra Group preparations for Brexit. This comes after an EA memo calling on EA managers to provide details of staff who could be made available to transfer to Defra to support contingency planning for EU Exit. Whilst we do not comment on leaked documents, press office shared a line and extensive briefing with the journalist Damian Carrington to make it clear that this work is part of ongoing cross-Government efforts to reprioritise resource to ensure a smooth Brexit, but that this does not come as a cost to our existing environmental priorities. While our line is carried, the piece focuses on stakeholder reaction. Click here to read more