1 Introduction
1. The Modernisation Committee and the Liaison Committee
have said that one of the core tasks of select committees is to
scrutinise the expenditure of government departments and to monitor
performance against public service agreement (PSA) targets.[1]
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee carries out
the task in two ways: through a number of our inquiries into particular
aspects of the work of the Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs (Defra); and by carrying out each year a short inquiry
into the annual Departmental Report.[2]
2. Defra published its Departmental Report 2004 on
29 April 2004.[3] Sir Brian
Bender KCB, permanent secretary at the Department, accompanied
by its finance director and its director of communications, gave
oral evidence to us on 16 June 2004. In addition the Department
provided us with written evidence both before and after the oral
evidence session. The evidence we received is published along
with this Report.
1 Liaison Committee, Second Report of Session 2001-02,
Select Committees: modernisation proposals, HC 692, para
16; Modernisation Committee, First Report of Session 2001-02,
Select Committees, HC 224-I Back
2
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Sixth Report of
2001-02, Departmental Annual Report 2002, HC 969 and Twelfth
Report of 2002-03, The Departmental Annual Report 2003,
HC 832 Back
3
Cmd 6219; see also "Defra publishes 2004 Departmental Report",
Defra press release 167/04, 29 April 2004 Back
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