Defra to Make £162m of Savings
These in-year efficiencies will include the following elements:
- limiting recruitment and reducing the number of non-permanent staff;
- operational savings in IT, estates and procurement;
- a reduction in funding for Regional Development Agencies;
- efficiencies in flood management while maintaining an increase in expenditure; and
- savings within the delivery of selected programmes.



Livestock keepers are being urged to stay vigilant for Bluetongue (BTV-3) following confirmation of the disease in a ewe. The case, confirmed in Staffordshire on 23 June 2026, represents the first confirmed case of infection this summer.