DEFRA is a very large department, with very complex and wide-ranging responsibilities.

I have established the following points:-

• The Aims and Objectives are a key text within the Department's Activities, in particular, they are central to the Departmental Report
• The Aims and Objectives can be seen as part of a wider attempt to modernise Government
• The Departmental Report is the annual report by the Minister to Parliament, and includes the budget for the Department. To that extent, it is also a Treasury report.
• The Department and its Aims and Objectives have developed further since then, becoming a system including a 'vision' and a 'prospectus' along with a system of Public Service Agreements