| In this inquiry we have taken an overview of the performance of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), as reviewed in Defra's Departmental Report 2004. Our report is part of a sequence of reports into Defra's annual Departmental Reports.
Overall the Department has made progress in the past year. Although there is more to do, the efforts of senior managers, led by the permanent secretary, to bring the constituent parts of the Department together into a coherent whole appear to be bearing fruit. Certainly there is no longer an air of crisis about the Department, and it appears now to be becoming more self-confident.
However, we are still concerned about Defra's ability to influence other 'actors' across Government. In two key areas the Department relies primarily on others to deliver meaningful results: in taking account of rural needs and in sustainability. Although other departments pay lip service to the priorities of sustainable development, we believe that in the big decisions—over fuel duties and aviation policy—Defra is not able to hold sway. This is a very significant failing.
In this report we also examine Defra's performance against its public service agreement targets. In a number of cases performance has slipped, or seems likely to slip in the future. We will return to many of the areas of concern in future inquiries. A recurring theme, though, is that in situations where there is slippage against targets we urge the Department not to be tempted to lower the target to a more achievable level.
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