Mrs Elen Shepard
Biography
Elen Shepard
Elen Shepard and Fiona James took up post as Defra Deputy Directors for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as a jobshare in October 2019.
They are jointly responsible for delivery of the current CAP, including the Basic Payment Scheme and Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) ensuring a smooth transition to a new domestic policy. Fiona works the first half of the week and Elen the second.
Fiona and Elen started job-sharing together in 2016 and have worked together since in a number of roles including:
- Head of the Implementation Unit in Defra’s Strategy Unit;
- Head of Defra’s Food Exports Strategy
- Deputy Directors on EU Exit Preparedness for the CAP
Fiona and Elen both have a policy background and between them have worked in a number of roles related to agricultural, environmental and food policy in Defra, HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office.
UKCB Board Member for Defra
The UK Co-ordinating Body Management Board includes a representative of each of the 4 departments that own UKCB:
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the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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the Welsh government
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the Scottish government
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the Northern Ireland Executive
The chairmanship of the board rotates between the 4 representatives.
Previous roles in government
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UKCB Board Member for Defra