Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, by how many full-time equivalent employees his departmental payroll has reduced since the conclusion of the EU Exit trade deal.

The departmental full-time equivalent in Defra has increased by 91.55 since the conclusion of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, during the period 31 December 2020 to 31 January 2021. The reason for the increase is that the department is still dealing with the outcomes of the EU exit trade negotiations, UK borders, the Northern Ireland Protocol and the Covid-19 pandemic.