Government launches new environmental science agency

The government has promised to accelerate future responses to environmental and food safety threats, such as Foot and Mouth or BSE, following the formal launch of the new Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA).

Speaking earlier today at the opening of the agency's new headquarters in Sand Hutton, Yorkshire, environment secretary Hilary Benn said that the integration of many of the department's scientific teams represented a "big step forward" in the government's plans to strengthen the scientific institutions undertaking climate change-related research.

Announced back in January, FERA will bring together a raft of different agencies responsible for research into food, farming and environmental impacts, including Defra's Central Science Laboratory, Plant Health Division, Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate, Plant Variety Rights Office and Seeds Division, and the UK Government Decontamination Service.

The new agency is likely to undertake some of the government's most high profile and contentious scientific projects, including work on the environmental impact of genetically modified crops, animal health scares, falling biodiversity levels, hazardous chemical regulations, and the effects of climate change on food security.

The government said the creation of the new agency would ensure better integration between scientific research, policy development and inspection services, resulting in improved environmental risk assessment and swifter responses to crises, such as the Foot and Mouth outbreak of 2001.

It added that the agency would also help streamline risk assessment processes, removing delays for businesses involved in both national and international trade.

Adrian Belton chief executive of Fera hinted that much of the research undertaken by the new agency could prove beneficial to the business community.

"Today's launch has helped to raise the profile of Fera's work in support of Government priorities and indeed how our world class science and innovation can be exploited more widely for the challenges facing society as well as business, " he said.