Nowhere is this culture more apparent than at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, so long the responsibility of the infamous Margaret Beckett, and which appears to be functioning little better under Hilary Benn, the Leeds Central MP.

Not only is Defra so poorly-run that it was unable to allocate its final budgets until five months into the financial year, but the department has repeatedly failed to plan for unforeseen occurrences – such as flooding, bird flu and foot-and-mouth – which all hit the country last year.

The consequence of these events was that Defra had to cut its funding in certain areas, such as the funding of flood defence schemes, the maintenance of the canal network and schemes to help trawlermen, so that it could respond in a half-hearted manner to these emergencies.

Yet the first rule of accounting, whether in business or with regard to the household finances, is to ensure sufficient money is kept to one side for emergencies. Defra has repeatedly failed to heed this lesson.

This shambolic state of affairs would almost be laughable if it was not for the fact that Mrs Beckett remained in charge of this department for five years because she was, according to Tony Blair, doing such an effective job in overhauling the management of Defra.

However such arrogance overlooked the fact that Defra remains ultimately responsible for the livelihoods of real people – farmers and those working in the rural economy being chief among them – and it is they who are paying the heaviest price of all for the department's continuing incompetence.

It cannot survive many more reports as scathing as the verdict delivered today by MPs before it – just like the Home Office – is declared unfit for purpose.