The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) was a

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

department of the Scottish Executive. SEERAD was responsible for the following areas in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, rural development,

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

, the environment and fisheries. Following the change of administration in May 2007, a restructuring exercise led to most SEERAD functions being continued under the new Scottish Executive Environment Directorate. SEERAD was directly responsible for various agencies of the Scottish Executive and other public bodies relating to these areas of responsibility. From early 2005 the Department was headed by Richard Wakeford. The Minister for Environment and Rural Development was Ross Finnie and he was assisted by the Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development, Sarah Boyack. A

concordat A concordat () is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 United Kingdom government

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental quality, environmenta ...

Concordat between MAFF and the Scottish Executive
Many of the functions of SEERAD were subsumed into the Environment Directorate in 2007.

Structure

The department had three executive agencies: * Scottish Agricultural Science Agency, which is responsible for scientific research into agriculture * Fisheries Research Services, which carries out scientific research into the fisheries and aquaculture areas * Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency, responsible for enforcing fisheries regulations in Scottish waters, and monitoring compliance The department sponsored several non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) including: * Crofters Commission * Deer Commission for Scotland *

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

* Scottish Environment Protection Agency * Scottish Natural Heritage * The Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority * The Macaulay Institute The department also worked with Scottish Water.

References

External links

Scottish Government website
Defunct departments of the Scottish Government 1999 establishments in Scotland 1999 in British politics 2007 disestablishments in Scotland Economy of Scotland Climate change in Scotland Scottish coast and countryside Science and technology in Scotland Environment of Scotland Environmental organisations based in Scotland Rural Scotland Ministries established in 1999 Ministries disestablished in 2007 {{Scotland-gov-stub