What Defra does

Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) is a UK government ministerial department established in 2001, formed from the merger of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with environmental and transport functions from other departments. It is headquartered at Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London, and operates with 10,000+ employees as one of the largest UK government departments. Defra holds statutory policy and regulatory responsibility for environmental protection, food production and standards, farming, fisheries, countryside management, flood risk, wildlife and biodiversity, waste, and air quality across the United Kingdom, working with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The department's core technology consists of digital service platforms delivered primarily through GOV.UK and dedicated portals. Identified products include NMPT-GB, a free online nutrient management planning tool that helps farmers match nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulphur and lime inputs to crop and soil requirements, and the Clean Air Act Data Entry System, a portal that manages exemptions for appliances burning unauthorised fuels in smoke control areas and is administered by HETAS on behalf of Defra. Defra also operates producer-responsibility enforcement frameworks for packaging, WEEE, batteries and end-of-life vehicles, coordinated with the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, SEPA, the Office for Product Safety and Standards, and the Department for Business and Trade. The department is GDPR-compliant (UK GDPR / Data Protection Act 2018).

Defra does not generate commercial revenue. It is funded through parliamentary appropriations under the direction of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who is accountable to Parliament. Customer segments are universal rather than commercial: UK citizens and households use Defra services for flood risk, waste, countryside access and licences; farmers and agricultural businesses use tools such as NMPT-GB and rural payments via the Rural Payments Agency; and UK businesses — particularly battery, electronics and packaging producers — interact with Defra's regulatory and producer-responsibility frameworks. Its portfolio includes six wholly-owned operating subsidiaries: the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Rural Payments Agency, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, and the Marine Management Organisation.

Name

Defra

Legal name

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

Website

https://gov.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Defra is the UK government ministerial department responsible for environmental protection, food, farming, fisheries, waste and rural affairs, delivering statutory regulation, digital services (e.g., NMPT-GB) and policy through GOV.UK and six executive agencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Environmental Regulation

NAICS

Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (924110), Regulation of Agricultural Marketing and Commodities (92614)

SIC

Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)

akta.pro primary industry

Solid Waste & Recycling Services Administration (BPAIACAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Waste Management & Hazardous Waste Compliance (RCRA, Universal Waste, Waste Characterization/Manifests) (EUAHABAC)

Keywords

• Environmental regulation
• Agricultural policy
• Rural affairs
• Waste management compliance
• Food standards

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Defra is the UK government department responsible for policy and regulations on environmental, food, and rural issues. It provides statutory regulatory frameworks, free digital tools for farmers (such as NMPT-GB nutrient management planning), smoke control area appliance exemption management via the Clean Air Act Data Entry System, and coordinates with devolved administrations across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Product overview

Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) operates digital services primarily through the GOV.UK platform and a dedicated Clean Air Act Data Entry System. The main identified products are the NMPT-GB nutrient management planning tool for farmers and the Clean Air Act Data Entry System for managing exempt appliances and authorised fuels in smoke control areas. Most of Defra's digital presence consists of informational content and services rather than standalone commercial products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NMPT-GB (Nutrient Management Planning Tool-GB) A free online nutrient management planning tool designed to help farmers match nutrient inputs such as nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulphur, and lime to specific crop and soil requirements. The tool aims to increase farm profitability while protecting the environment and is offered at no cost.
• Clean Air Act Data Entry System A government web portal for the Smoke Control Areas programme providing information about exempt appliances and authorised fuels under the Clean Air Act 1993 across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The system is administered by HETAS on behalf of Defra and processes appliance exemption applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• Defra's NMPT-GB tool helps farmers match nutrient inputs to specific crop and soil requirements to increase profitability while protecting the environment

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HETAScoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHETAS is contracted by Defra to run the Smoke Control Areas project. HETAS administers the Clean Air Act Data Entry System on behalf of Defra, processing appliance exemption applications and maintaining the list of exempt appliances for smoke control areas across the UK. The partnership involves data processing for appliance manufacturers, importers and distributors seeking exemptions.
• Environment Agency (England)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Environment Agency is the UK environmental regulator for producers, producer compliance schemes and treatment facilities in England, enforcing producer responsibility regulations for packaging, WEEE, batteries and end-of-life vehicles.
• Natural Resources WalescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNatural Resources Wales serves as the environmental regulator for producers in Wales, enforcing producer responsibility regulations.
• Northern Ireland Environment AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthern Ireland Environment Agency enforces producer responsibility regulations in Northern Ireland.
• Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEPA serves as the environmental regulator in Scotland, enforcing producer responsibility regulations for Scottish businesses.
• Office for Product Safety and StandardscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOffice for Product Safety and Standards manages WEEE and battery placed-on-market regulations for distributors, industrial and automotive battery producers, and restrictions on heavy metals in vehicles.
• Department for Business and TrademinorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDepartment for Business and Trade holds responsibility for end-of-life vehicle (ELV) regulations within the producer responsibility framework.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• French Ministry for the Ecological Transition: France's ministry responsible for environmental policy, energy transition, transport and housing. Comparable in scope and ministerial structure to Defra's environmental and rural affairs remit, though broader on energy policy.
• Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Australian federal department combining climate, energy, environment and water portfolios. Comparable to Defra in environmental regulatory remit, with parallel structure of statutory authority and executive agencies.
• USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture): U.S. federal department responsible for agriculture, food standards, rural development and forestry. Closely comparable to Defra's food and farming remit and the parallel structure of food/agriculture oversight across the two systems.
• German Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU): Germany's federal ministry responsible for environmental protection, nature conservation, nuclear safety and consumer protection. Comparable in regulatory scope and ministerial-department structure to Defra's environmental policy function.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): The U.S. federal regulator for environmental protection covering air, water, waste and pollution control. Highly comparable to Defra's environmental regulatory function, though operating under U.S. federalism with state-level implementing agencies analogous to Defra's Environment Agency.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada: Canadian federal department covering environment, climate change, weather and meteorology, and nature conservation. Functionally analogous to Defra's environmental protection and wildlife portfolio, with similar ministerial-department operating model.
• European Commission DG Environment: The EU's policy directorate for environment, responsible for environmental legislation across member states. Comparable in scope to Defra's regulatory function and increasingly relevant post-Brexit as Defra navigates divergence from EU environmental law.

Regional players

• Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA): Scotland's environmental regulator enforcing producer responsibility regulations for Scottish businesses. Direct functional counterpart for Defra's cross-UK producer responsibility framework in Scotland.
• Natural Resources Wales: Welsh Government-sponsored body that is the environmental regulator for producers in Wales, enforcing producer responsibility regulations. Direct functional counterpart to Defra's England-facing Environment Agency partnership.
• Northern Ireland Environment Agency: Northern Ireland's environmental regulator enforcing producer responsibility regulations in Northern Ireland. Direct functional counterpart for Defra's cross-UK producer responsibility framework in Northern Ireland.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/defragovuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/DefraGovUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/defra

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments12 records

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Frequently asked questions about Defra