Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what financial payments his Department makes to its non-executive directors; how many times his departmental Board will meet in 2021-22; and what work do non-executive directors undertake.
This information is published in the department’s annual report and accounts, available on gov.uk at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-to-2020
The department’s report and accounts for 2021-22 will be published in due course, in the usual way.
Departmental boards provide strategic leadership for each central Government department, as well as advising on/challenging how the department is performing. Each board is chaired by the Secretary of State and includes junior ministers, the permanent secretary and non-executive board members. Non-executives are appointed to Government departments from the public, private and voluntary sectors. Their role is to provide advice and bring an external perspective.
A summary of the work of non-executive directors across Government can be found in the Government Lead Non-Executive's annual report, available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-lead-non-executives-annual-report-2019-to-2020. The Non-Executive Directors’ Report in the annual report and accounts provides more information on the work of Defra’s non-executive directors (link above).