Communities and Local Government and DEFRA

Communities and Local Government and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) are responsible for national policy on local government in England, which covers:

• what it does
• how well it works
• how it is funded

Communities and Local Government

Communities and Local Government has a powerful new remit to promote community cohesion and equality, as well as responsibility for housing, urban regeneration, planning and local government. It unites the communities and Civil Renewal functions previously undertaken by the Home Office, with responsibility for regeneration, neighbourhood renewal and local government (previously held by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister).

Below is a list of their main activities.  (National policy for these is dealt with by the relevant government department):

• fire and rescue service
• housing
• parks and recreation
• planning

DEFRA

DEFRA's core purpose is to improve the current and future quality of life.

For the first time one department has brought together the interests of farmers and the countryside; the environment and the rural economy; the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink.

Their main activities involve:

• the environment and environmental health
• waste disposal and collection

(National policy for these is dealt with by the relevant government department).

Although certain divisions of DEFRA and Communities and Local Government have an interest in planning policies, they are not involved as statutory consultees on planning applications.