Defra Underspent by Pounds750m Over Five Years

Summary

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Ministers sat on pounds750 million of rural funding over five years before making swingeing budget cuts amid claims that there was not enough money to go round, it emerged last night.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has underspent its budget in every year since it was set up in 2001 - but this year ministers say it is pounds200 million in the red and have told agencies funded by the department to tighten their belts.

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Extract

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Defra Underspent by Pounds750m Over Five Years

Last night the scale of the underspend was branded "staggering", and it was claimed the funding could have been used on projects including tackling climate change, bolsteri...

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