Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Defra produces a wide range of statistics on the environment, farming, fishing, food and rural issues. Defra is responsible for statistics on adapting to climate change, whillst DeCC is responsible for compiling figures on greenhouse gas emissions to monitor compliance against domestic and international targets.  

There are three Chief Statisticians who lead the work, one acting as Head of Profession. The statisticians work very closely with policy and other professional colleagues within Defra and its agencies (close contacts are maintained with external users and suppliers of data including delivery bodies such as Natural England, the Commission for Rural Communities and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee). There are also strong links with Eurostat and other Member States given the importance of European statistics in this area.

Defra contributes to two Themes - Agriculture and Environment (which is chaired by the Defra Head of Profession) and People and Places (which includes statistics on food and sustainable development).