Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Progress in Implementing EU Exit

The National Audit Office (NAO) published in September 2018 a report Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Progress in Implementing EU Exit.

This was a follow-up to a report issued in December 2017 Implementing the UK’s Exit from the European Union: The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. With almost all of its areas of responsibility framed by EU legislation, Defra was a key player within government negotiations on the withdrawal agreement and the future partnership with the EU.

In the September 2018 report the NAO said that DEFRA had made good progress in its preparations for exiting the EU, but that it faced an enormous challenge. It was now not able to deliver everything it originally intended for a ‘no-deal’ exit, though DEFRA still aimed to have sufficient arrangements in place if needed.

In the report the NAO assessed how Defra was implementing its overall EU Exit portfolio and assessed in detail four of Defra’s work streams covering environmental regulations for chemicals, the import and exports of animals and animal
products and control of English fishing waters.

• Primary Source

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

ESO: Find further information in ESO on environmental policies in the UK post-Brexit http://www.europeansources.info/advSearchLink?keyword=brexit%20after%20environment%20&searchOption=all

BBC News, 12.09.18: Exports risk delay at borders in no-deal Brexit, watchdog warns https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45492079

The Guardian, 12.09.18: Defra's readiness for no-deal Brexit pilloried by Whitehall auditors https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/12/defra-readiness-for-no-deal-brexit-pilloried-by-whitehall-auditors-michael-gove-nao

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