13 June 2003
The widely criticised Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs would be ranked as 'weak' if it were to undergo the same Audit Commission assessment process as local authorities, a senior Defra figure has admitted.
But Francesca Okosi, Defra's new director of change, told an audience at the CIPFA conference in Harrogate that the department's performance has improved significantly in recent years and would have been ranked as 'poor' a few years ago.
Defra has been the subject of widespread criticism in the wake of the foot and mouth and BSE crises.
Okosi, a former president of the Society of Personnel Officers, also defended public servants from accusations that they operate a 'nine-to-five' culture to the detriment of public service delivery.
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