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The Reform of Public Bodies
As part of the Government’s commitment to reform and review all public services, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, has now summarised plans to substantially reform a large number of public bodies, including Defra. 

The intention of Ministers is to simplify all of Defra’s arm’s-length bodies (ALBs), both for the department and its customers. According to the minister, this will include restructuring the provision of scientific advice and the replacing a number of existing advisory bodies.

After these reforms, the number of remaining public bodies under Defra will be reduced to 32.

Some of the changes to be made include:
  • The abolishment of the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy England Implementation Group
  • The substantial reform of the Environment Agency, including  structural and cultural changes.
  • The reconstitution of the Farm Animal Welfare Council, the Veterinary Residues Committee and the Zoos Forum as a ‘committee of experts’.
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said: “Defra’s current delivery network contains over 90 arm’s-length bodies and there have been difficult decisions to make in order to achieve the best value for money in this challenging economic climate. The announcement today confirms that the number of Defra’s arm’s length bodies will reduce by over half.

“But the changes announced today also reflect the government’s view that it should only carry out those functions which only government can do, while harnessing the power of civil society and the private sector to help deliver Defra’s objectives.”

For more information and to see all the changes that will be made please click here.

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VMD invites students to apply for EMS placement

News Story 1
 The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is inviting applications from veterinary students to attend a one-week extramural studies (EMS) placement in July 2026.

Students in their clinical years of study have until 28 February to apply for the placement, which takes place at the VMD's offices in Addlestone, Surrey, from 6-10 July 2026.

Through a mixture of lectures and workshops, the placement will explore how veterinary medicines are authorised, non-clinical career opportunities, and other important aspects of the VMD's work.  

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Survey seeks ruminant sector views on antimicrobial stewardship

A new survey is seeking views of people working in the UK ruminant sector on how to tackle the challenge of demonstrating responsible antibiotic stewardship.

Forming part of a wider, collaborative initiative, the results will help identify the types of data available so that challenges with data collection can be better understood and addressed.

Anyone working in the UK farming sector, including vets and farmers,is encouraged to complete the survey, which is available at app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk