Change of environment: John Graham, principal finance officer at the Scottish Office, is to be the new secretary of the Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department (SOAFD). He succeeds Muir Russell who was recently appointed Permanent Secretary at the Scottish Office. Graham, 47, will take up his appointment next week. An Oxford graduate, he joined the Scottish Office in 1972 and was Principal Private Secretary to the then Secretary of State, George Younger. In 1996, he was appointed principal finance officer and has been responsible for planning and controlling the budget of the Secretary of State for Scotland.