Secretary Of State For Environment Research Articles

'Critical time' for new Defra secretary of state.

Steve Barclay is the new secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs following prime minister Rishi Sunak's cabinet reshuffle last month.

A Conversation

A Conversation

Langton v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Badger cull in the Court of Appeal

Langton v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Badger cull in the Court of Appeal

R (on the application of The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers) v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

R (on the application of The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers) v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Food Innovation Network

Food Innovation Network

Fraternity without equality, and other Conservative ideals

I n June 2005, when we had just begun the collective discussions leading up to the Compass publication The Good Society, an email circulated amongst our group containing a link to a speech by Oliver Letwin, who was then the Conservative Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The speech was called ‘Conducting Politics as if Beauty Matters’, and the theme was Environmentalism. Drawing on the language of the Romantics, Letwin argued that politicians needed a new vocabulary to talk about the environment. This was an issue that went beyond the merely mechanical. He called for a new political culture in which environmental policy is recognised as being the achievement of beauty. ‘The language of politics needs to refl ect the felt experience of the environment as sensations and impressions that are capable of moving us to delight and awe.’

Editorial: Putting sustainability science to work: assisting the East of England Region to respond to the challenges of climate change

In May 2006 the Prime Minister made it publicly clear to the incoming Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, David Miliband, that limiting the emissions of greenhouse gases, and dealing with climate change generally, is his top priority.1 Indeed, all policies and institutional arrangements will need to be challenged to achieve the ambition of 60 per cent reduction of carbon dioxide by 2050 (DTI 2003). How may this ambition be delivered sustainably? The UK Sustainable Development Strategy (HM Government 2005) placed an emphasis on the principles and practices of sustainability at all levels of government in the UK. Eventually all of these different levels will be expected to produce sustainable development action plans, beginning with all central government departments, regional administrations and devolved administrations in 2006 (HM Government 2005 2006). The regions have a vital role to play in delivering adequate responses to climate change, both in adapting to its impacts and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Crucial are the Regional Spatial Strategies, since these guide mid-range planning decisions on settlement, transport and energy (see also HM Government 2006). However, it is clear that integrating governance-for-sustainability into emerging regionalism and localism in the UK is still at the embryonic stage (O’Riordan 2004). The UK Sustainable Development Commission (2005) reviewed the regional policy machinery with a view to improving its capability to achieve sustainable development. It proposed that regional sustainable development frameworks should be established at the highest level of integration both for evaluating and progressing sustainability. In its response (HM Government 2006, 17), the Government called for the use of evidence-based scenarios, stakeholder involvement, integrated visions, clear targets, sustainability appraisal techniques and regular monitoring and reporting via independent regional sustainable development round tables.

Evans v The Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions and Anr

Evans v The Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions and Anr

BASSETT, M. G., KING, A. H., LARWOOD, J. G., PARKINSON, N. A. & DEISLER, V. K. (eds) 2001. A Future for Fossils. National Museums & Galleries of Wales, Geological Series no. 19. 156 pp. Cardiff: National Museums & Galleries of Wales. Price £14.50 plus postage and packing (paperback). ISBN 0 7200 0479 9

This volume represents the printed results of the international conference ‘A Future for Fossils’, which was promoted by English Nature with financial and logistical support of the National Museums and Galleries of Wales, Cardiff University, the Countryside Council for Wales and the Palaeontological Association. It was held in Cardiff on 14–15 October 1998. The rather vague title disguises an important volume which examines ethics and morals of palaeontological collecting. Its aim was to see if further legislature was necessary in an age of reduced access to small temporary exposures, of increased public interest, and increasing depth of pocket for those building collections. The volume contains 25 individually authored contributions, complete with abstracts and an index. Section 1, ‘National Perspectives and Policies’, was introduced by Andy King. Euan Clarkson reviewed the palaeontological resource of Great Britain indicating the significant contributions which have been made in each period. Tony Weighell examined the role of the government agencies such as the Joint Nature Conservation Committee in managing the fossil resource. He recognized two types of sites used in UK classification: integrity sites which have finite collecting potential where collecting must be controlled or the palaeontological value will be lost, and exposure sites where there is replenishment as in active quarrying or coastal sections. In international terms such sites may be raised to UNESCO World Heritage Site or Geopark respectively. Andy King & Jonathan Larwood examined ‘Operations Likely to Damage’ in the most fragile of Sites of Special Scientific Interest of which there are 55 such sites in England. Informing those likely to have an interest was paramount, such as landowners, tenants, environmental agencies, planning authorities, and the Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and Regions. John Harvey discussed the policies of organizations including the National Trust. The National Trust has an actively restricted …

Briefing: Challenges for sustainable development

The issue of sustainable development is now firmly on the agenda for most nations around the world. In this briefing paper, Margaret Beckett, MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, outlines the sustainability challenges facing us today and the current and planned measures for tackling them within the UK. [Formula: see text]

GM food and crops: what went wrong in the UK? Many of the public's concerns have little to do with science.

Genetically modified (GM) crops are now being grown extensively in North and South America and China, although not in Europe. Food produced from these crops has become a part of the normal diet in North and South America and in China, but not in Europe, where contention continues despite the fact that millions of US citizens eat GM soya without any ill effects in a very litigious society, and many Europeans have eaten GM soya while in the US without any adverse consequences. > Why has the British public, who normally so pragmatically welcome scientific advances, resisted the introduction of genetically modified crops? European consumers' continuous and ardent opposition to GM crops and foods has had serious repercussions for plant research, for the commercial development of new crops and, most importantly, for developing countries that could benefit most from GM crops. Several countries in Africa and elsewhere have resisted growing such crops, mainly for fear of being unable to export them to the European market ( The Economist , 2002). It is therefore worthwhile to investigate what actually went wrong in the debate about GM food and crops in Europe and how these foods have earned such a bad name. Such an analysis could not only help to overcome public fears of this technology, but also help scientists and policy makers to address similar concerns in the future, such as the growing debate over nanotechnology. The concerns of European consumers about the potential health and environmental threats of GM crops have resulted in an unprecedented effort to investigate those anxieties and communicate with the wider public, particularly in the UK, where the use of public consultation has been extensively developed. The first of these initiatives was the extensive Farm Scale Evaluations of three GM crops (herbicide‐resistant beet, oil seed rape and maize), whose …