Permanent Secretary Appointed at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

14 August 2025, UK: The Cabinet Secretary, with the approval of the Prime Minister, has appointed Paul Kissack as the new Permanent Secretary of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). 

Paul, who is currently the Group Chief Executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust,  will start the role in October.

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Rt. Hon Steve Reed MP said:

I’m delighted to welcome Paul to the department. His experience and expertise will ensure we achieve our objectives as a government. I look forward to working with him to make our country a better place.

Cabinet Secretary, Sir Chris Wormald said: 

I would like to congratulate Paul Kissack on his appointment as Permanent Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Paul’s experience of public service delivery in the UK (and New Zealand), and his most recent role leading the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, makes him excellently suited to lead Defra at this time and drive delivery of the Department’s missions.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Tamara Finkelstein for her excellent leadership of the Department over the last six years and David Hill for his role as interim Permanent Secretary.

Incoming Permanent Secretary, Paul Kissack said: 

I am delighted to be rejoining the Civil Service and honoured to be returning to Defra. Restoring the natural environment and enhancing the sustainable use of natural resources – through cleaner water, greener land, purer air and reduced waste – is fundamental to a strong economy and delivering the Plan for Change.  

And the work of the Defra Group – from food security to bio-security to flood defences – is critical to ensuring our national resilience and protecting the public. I am hugely looking forward to working with colleagues across the Defra Group, across Government and the many stakeholders who share these ambitions for our country in the years ahead.

The appointment follows an external recruitment exercise chaired by the independent First Civil Service Commissioner.  

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