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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of cases of bullying and harassment that have been recorded against managers in his Department in each of the last five years.

We do not record cases of bullying and harassment made specifically against managers. The table below shows the total number of cases per year.

We have withheld the exact figure for years that involve less than five members of staff, to mitigate the risk of them being identified from the information provided.

The overall number of staff working in Defra has risen substantially since 2017. Defra is committed to creating an environment where no one suffers from harassment, discrimination, bullying and victimisation, either directly or indirectly. We support the right of employees to be treated with dignity and respect at work, and our HR policies and procedures make it clear that the department will not accept inappropriate behaviours.