Alarm at possible Defra cuts

Serioius concerns are being expressed over the prospect of cuts at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Senior officials are thought to be considering cost cutting of up to £270 million to help balance the books after recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth and bluetongue disease.

The farm payments fiasco and the summer's floods are also believed to have contributed to the need to scale back spending.

Ministers are to be presented with cuts of between £130m and £270m.

Recycling, nature protection and Defra's efforts to reduce energy use could all be affected.

The savings are on top of Whitehall-wide annual administrative cuts of 5 per cent.

Tom Oliver, head of rural policy at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is worried that cuts are even being considered.

"Even if this is only an idea circulating around Whitehall, it shows how very desperate the position of the environment is within the Government's priorities," he said.

"It is very difficult to see, given the pressure on resources on environmental aims anyway, for a whole range of things the Government is committed to, how it can cope with yet more cuts.

A Defra spokesman said: "No final decisions have yet been reached. Protecting and enhancing the environment remains an absolutely key priority for Defra."

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