About Defra

Executive Agencies and NDPBs

Executive Agencies

Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies

Advisory NDPBs

Public corporations

Tribunals and other bodies

Other Advisory Bodies and Stakeholder Groups

The list below details all Executive Agencies and non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) sponsored by Defra. Executive NDPBs designated for consolidation in Central Government Accounts are marked with a hash (#).

Executive Agencies

Executive agencies are established to undertake the executive functions of governments, as distinct from policy advice. Each agency has a framework document, which sets out its relationship with Ministers and accountability arrangements.

Central Science Laboratory (CSL)

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS)

Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD)

Rural Payments Agency (RPA)

Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA)

Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD)

• The report on the Review of Defra's science-based executive agencies was published in December 2002.

Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies

A non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a body which has a role in the processes of national government but is not a government department. There are three main types of NDPB: executive, advisory and tribunals. Most executive NDPBs are financed mainly by grant in aid from their sponsor department; others may be self-financing or have their costs borne directly on the Departmental Estimate. All NDPBs are subject to external audit, either by the Comptroller and Auditor General or by an auditor appointed by the Secretary of State.

Agricultural Wages Board (England and Wales) (AWB)

Agricultural Wages Committee (England) (AWC)

Apple and Pear Research Council (APRC) (closed 31 March 2003) #

British Potato Council (BPC) #

Countryside Agency (CA)

English Nature (EN) #

Environment Agency (EA) #

Food from Britain (FFB)

Home-Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA) #

Horticultural Development Council (HDC) #

Horticulture Research International (HRI) #

Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)

Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) #

Milk Development Council (MDC) #

National Forest Company #

Regional Flood Defence Committees

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew) #

Sea Fish Industry Authority (SFIA) #

United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards (UKROFS)

Wine Standards Board

Advisory NDPBs

Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment (ACBE)

Advisory Committee on Consumer Products and the Environment (ACCPE)

Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances (ACHS)

Advisory Committee on Packaging

Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP)

Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment [of genetically modified organisms] (ACRE)

Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committees (ADHACs)

Air Quality Expert Group (replaces the former Airborne Particles Expert Group)

Air Quality Forum

Committee of Investigation for Great Britain

Committee on Agricultural Valuation

Committee on Products and Processes for Use in Public Water Supply

Consumers’ Committee for Great Britain under the Agricultural Marketing Act 1958

Darwin Advisory Committee (the Darwin Initiative)

Expert Group on Cryptosporidium in Water Supplies

Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards

Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC)

Hill Farming Advisory Committee for England, Wales and Nothern Ireland

Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG)

Inland Waterways Amenity Advisory Council

Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) Appeals Panel

National Expert Group on Transboundary Air Pollution

Pesticide Residues Committee

Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee

Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution

Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee

Sustainable Development Commission

Sustainable Development Education Panel

Veterinary Products Committee

Water Regulations Advisory Committee (WRAC)

Zoos Forum

Public Corporations

British Waterways

Covent Garden Market Authority

Tribunals and other bodies

Agricultural Land Tribunals

British Wool Marketing Board

Commons Commissioners

Dairy Produce Quota Tribunal

Plant Varieties and Seeds Tribunal

Other Advisory Bodies and Stakeholder Groups

Agricultural Waste Stakeholders' Forum

Association of National Park Authorities

Broads Authority

Chemicals Stakeholder Forum

Hazardous Waste Forum

National Rural Development Forum

Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime

Pesticides Forum

Regional Environment Protection Advisory Committees

Regional Fisheries, Ecology and Recreation Advisory Committees

Trade Union Sustainable Development Advisory Committee (TUSDAC)

UK Biodiversity Group