South West Norfolk MP Elizabeth Truss has been promoted to the role of Environment Secretary in David Cameron’s second stage of his final cabinet reshuffle before next year’s general election.
The MP, who was made an early years minister in the Department for Education in 2012, will replace Owen Paterson as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
She will be paid £80,000 a year on top of her MP’s salary of £67,000.
Liz Truss follows in the footsteps of former South West Norfolk MP Baroness Shephard who was made minister of agriculture, fisheries and food in 1993.
On her website, Ms Truss said she was working hard to get the best deal for Norfolk farmers.
Her page says: “Elizabeth has a number of concerns about the use of agricultural land for solar or biomass plants and the subsidies for these operations. She does not want to see the UK’s food security jeopardised; food and farming is the largest manufacturing industry in the UK and she is keen to see that the importance of this sector is recognised.”
“Elizabeth has also raised with the Defra Secretary of State her concerns in relation to flooding in her constituency. She has long argued that the £1:£8 cost benefit ratio formula provided by the Environment Agency for the funding of flood prevention schemes do not value farmland high enough.”
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