Defra said new boss could work from home ‘by mistake' after raid on farmers
Defra said its new boss could work from home 'by mistake', The Telegraph can reveal.
Applicants for a £185,000 government role to support farmers were accidentally told they could work remotely in a since-edited job listing.
Meanwhile, Labour grapples with a major backlash from the rural community over its tax raid on farmers, which has seen tractors driven through Westminster in a string of protests.
The senior Civil Service role was advertised with an annual salary of between £170,000 and £185,000 and the possibility of 'home working'.
But after being contacted by The Telegraph, the Government removed the option to dial in remotely. It is understood it was listed by mistake.
The successful applicant for the permanent secretary role in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will be the lead adviser to Steve Reed, the Secretary of State.
On top of the bumper salary, the role comes with generous employer pension contributions of 28.97 per cent – equivalent to just under £50,000.
'Laughable' advert
The Government was initially criticised over the 'laughable' advert, with farmers lashing out at the hefty pay offer alongside cushy benefits including 'flexible working' and 'home working'.
The Telegraph was later informed that the role in question was not remote and the job description had been corrected.
Rachel Reeves announced in 2024's Budget that inherited farms worth more than £1 million would be taxed at a rate of 20 per cent from April 2026.
This is half the usual inheritance tax rate but still represents a significant change for a sector that has been shielded from the levy for decades.
Rural groups have argued that the £1 million threshold will hit the majority of working family farms, which are asset rich but cash poor, instead of targeting wealthy landowners seeking to avoid inheritance tax.
In a job description for the Defra role, Mr Reed's 'five priorities' are listed including 'to clean up Britain's rivers, lakes and seas' as well as to 'support farmers to boost food security'.
The advert goes on to say that the successful candidate will '[act] as the primary policy adviser to the Secretary of State and his ministerial team in setting the overall strategy and policy for the department, ensuring it is cost effective, evidence-based and achievable'.
The successful candidate will also be expected to 'provide strong leadership to the department by translating ministers' ambitions into a clear vision to our people, setting a clear direction for that vision and ensuring it is organised, resourced and motivated to support ministers effectively'.
Before the clarification Sir Ashley Fox, a Tory MP who has spoken out about the vast numbers of civil servants that regularly work from home, had said: 'The Labour Party have proved time and again that they don't understand farmers.
'It's laughable to think someone working from home on £170,000 a year can provide the kind of 'support' our farmers need out in their fields every day at the crack of dawn.'
'They should be out every single day'
Meanwhile, farmer Gareth Wyn Jones described the role as 'another bonkers job'.
He added: 'How the hell can these people work from home? It's a job that is supposed to be reflected in agriculture and the outdoors.
'They should be out every single day, meeting farmers and understanding what their lives are like.'
Mr Jones, whose family have farmed their land in Wales for more than 370 years, is one of a large number of the agricultural community who feel let down by the Government.
'Oh God come on, look at that kind of wage compared to the general farmer who is out there seven days a week,' he said.
'These people can work from home, need to come to London every now and then.
'These civil servants, these policymakers, have got no idea. They are the ones that are destroying our country, our industries and our working people.'
Cllr Tim Taylor, leader of campaign group Pro Farmers United, said: 'If you knock £100,000 off that, then that's still a bloody good salary to do a job like that.
'If farmers found out that's what that salary is they would go absolutely spare.'
A government spokesman said: 'Civil Service leaders play a crucial role in supporting the Government and highly skilled individuals are required to deliver essential public services. Permanent secretary pay is based on recommendations from the independent Senior Salaries Review Body.
'Our commitment to farmers remains steadfast. It's why we are investing £5 billion into farming and have appointed former NFU president Baroness Minette Batters to recommend new reforms to boost farmers' profits.'
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