As an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the document covers Cefas’ performance against six ministerial targets – Delivery of Outputs; Customer Focus; Strong Science; Financial; Efficient, Cost-effective Operation; and Investment in People – all of which were achieved.
Cefas’ Chief Executive, Richard Judge, said: "Achievement of all our targets is a great result at any time but even more so in a year in which Cefas also delivered substantial organisational change, dealt with the impact of headcount and budget restraints, and still continued to deliver high-quality science and gain very positive feedback from our customers.
"This Annual Report reflects the tremendous commitment from our staff, and demonstrates the continued relevance and importance of our applied science for society."
Among the year’s achievements were:
- strong business growth, with turnover from non-Defra sources growing by £3 million
- the introduction of specialist screening techniques to protect the public from shellfish poisoning
- continued engagement with the fishing industry, through the Fishing Science Partnership and the Clean Fishing Competition, to develop new and modified fishing gears that reduce the environmental impact of fishing
- the development of new and innovative features for Cefas’ G5 data storage tag, to address the demanding requirements of those studying animal behaviours
- investment for R&D work on climate change, ecosystem modelling, nanotechnology and the development of biomolecular tools; and expansion and further development of its marine observations systems
- strengthened links with scientific and technical organisations, both nationally and internationally. For example, Cefas enhanced its long-standing links with the University of East Anglia.
- accelerated delivery of detailed transformation plans including relocating Cefas’ Essex-based staff to its Lowestoft, Suffolk, laboratory; and significant progress on building design for the shared, state-of-the-art Waveney Campus development
- more than 10% efficiency improvements and substantial savings in central support areas, in support of wider government objectives
- investment in health and safety procedures, including increased health surveillance for staff that work with hazardous chemicals, and better training for staff and managers.