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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people were employed by her Department to work on matters relating to equality, diversity and inclusivity in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.

Defra, alongside the wider Civil Service, is committed to a truly diverse workforce and culture of openness and inclusivity - not as ends in themselves but as means of delivering better outcomes to the citizens we serve.

Defra employs a team of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) experts to realise this commitment, ensuring we employ and retain talented staff, while meeting our statutory obligations and delivering value for the taxpayer.

The proportion has been calculated based on full-time roles as employed at the end of each calendar year, where the individual is formally employed to support delivery of the Defra group and Civil Service EDI strategy: Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy: 2022 to 2025 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

These roles are employed within Defra. However, they support and enable EDI delivery into the following executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies: Rural Payments Agency, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Natural England and Environment Agency.