§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff were employed in(a) her Department and (b) each of the non-departmental public bodies for which her Department is responsible in each of the last 10 years. [160589]
§ Alun MichaelDefra was created on 8 June 2001 so I can only respond in respect of the period since that date. The figures given refer to that period.
(a) The number of permanent staff in the core department and each Agency is set out in the following table:
5W(b) Defra currently has responsibility for 18 executive non-departmental public bodies, 32 advisory bodies, 4 tribunals and 2 public corporations. The following
2001 2002 2003 Public corporations British Waterways Board 1,929 1,929 2,063 Covent Garden Market Authority 39 39 40 Executive NDPBs Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales 0 0 0 Agricultural Wages Committees for England and Wales 0 0 0 Apple and Pear Research Council1 0.5 1 — British Potato Council 62 63 63 Countryside Agency 509.15 631.5 625.4 English Nature 783.5 825 1,030 Environment Ageny 10,476 10,595 10,595 Food from Britain 26 26 26 Home-Grown Cereals Authority 43.5 47.3 50 Horticultural Development Council 15 13.5 12 Horticulture Research International 567 502.5 484 Joint Nature Conservation Committee 82 100 101 Meat and Livestock Commission 678 666 666 Milk Development Council 9 14 14 National Forest Company 15.5 17 17 Regional Flood Defence Committees 0 0 0 Royal Botanic Gardens Kew 551 601 601 Sea Fish Industry Authority 147 145 145 United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards2 7 7 7 Wine Standards Board 10.5 10.5 10.5 Total 15,951 16,233 16,550 1 Wound up 31 March 2003. 2 Wound up 18 July 2003.