Household Budgets Food Prices 2022-04-28
2022-04-28
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
Food prices are rising, impacting families' budgets. There is a need for assessment.
What assessment his Department has made of the impact of food price rises on household budgets?
Agricultural commodity prices fluctuate based on factors like energy costs. High energy costs due to events in Ukraine mean there will be pressure on food prices as a result of increased input costs. Between 2008 and 2016, the poorest 20% spent about 16% of household income on food, which dipped under 15%, but is expected to rise.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not provide a specific assessment or details on the impact beyond general statements about fluctuations and expectations.
Acknowledges The Issue Generally Without Specifics
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
Farms are facing increased costs, which impact the cost of goods like eggs. Supermarkets are cutting prices.
Family-run farms such as Castle farm in my constituency are really being hit hard by the cost of feed, fuel and fertiliser, which in turn impacts on the cost of things such as eggs, as reported by BBC Wales today, and just adds to the soaring food prices that are hitting families so hard. Why are the Government not doing more, especially when the supermarkets are now cutting prices?
The Government have made available an additional £500 million to help households with increased pressure on household budgets. They are also removing tariffs on maize to try to reduce costs of animal feeds, though supermarkets may not absorb all these costs.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not directly address why the government is not doing more beyond mentioning £500m and tariff removals.
Mentions Actions But Does Not Fully Commit
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
Farmers face pressure from supermarkets, and some argue they control farmers' prices.
What is my right hon. Friend doing to give the Groceries Code Adjudicator more teeth to make sure that supermarkets do not inappropriately take advantage of difficulties with food prices? As he will well know, a lot of farmers face great pressure from supermarkets, and some would argue that they actually control the prices that farmers get when that is not really how it should be.
The supermarket adjudicator has made progress in bringing transparency to relationships between suppliers and supermarkets. Through the Agriculture Act 2020, new powers have been introduced to regulate and improve transparency and fairness of contracts.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not specify additional measures to give more power to the Groceries Code Adjudicator beyond existing actions.
Acknowledges Progress But Does Not Commit Further
Response accuracy
Q4
Partial Answer
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Context
Britain is facing a cost of living crisis with millions in food poverty. Food prices are rising.
Britain is besieged by a cost of living crisis. Tax hikes and rocketing bills are making life harder for working people. We know that 4.7 million adults and 2.5 million children live in food poverty, 2.1 million food parcels were issued last year, and 1 million people will not eat at all today. Looking back on his nine years in the Department, what would the Secretary of State have done differently to improve rather than weaken the food security here in the UK?
Our food security has remained stable at around 75% for the past 22 years. Since leaving the EU, more grants and investment have been made available to farms, and measures introduced to improve supply chain transparency.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not address how actions would improve food security specifically beyond general statements on stability and investments.
Acknowledges Current State But Does Not Commit To Improvements
Response accuracy
Q5
Partial Answer
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Context
Food costs will increase further due to labour shortages. The cost of food is rising.
The Secretary of State knows that the cost of food will get much higher as farmers and producers grapple with increased costs and Government-inflicted labour shortages. As the Minister responsible for food security, will he urgently convene a cross-Government summit with the food industry, devolved and local government and charities to finally get ahead of the crisis—or are the Government once again just out for themselves, out of touch, and completely out of ideas?
I have had many meetings with industry about the current situation. The next meeting of the UK Agricultural Partnership will focus specifically on food security.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not commit to convening a cross-Government summit beyond acknowledging previous meetings and future plans.
Acknowledges But Does Not Fully Commit
Response accuracy
Q6
Partial Answer
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Context
National Farmers Union of Scotland president warns about food security concerns. Brexit has raised food prices.
The shadow Secretary of State will be pleased to hear that Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon has called for a four-nation summit, and I believe the UK Government have agreed to that, so I am pleased that that will see some progress. National Farmers Union of Scotland president Martin Kennedy has said that the UK is on the verge of food security concerns not seen since world war two due to covid, Brexit and the war in Ukraine, with feed, food and fertiliser costs and labour shortages drastically affecting the farming and food production sectors. London School of Economics analysis shows that Brexit alone raised food prices by 6% in the past year or so. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts Brexit losses to be more than £1,250 per person, and 178 times bigger than trade deal gains, which, combined, are worth less than 50p per person. What support packages is the Secretary of State considering for the farming and food production sectors to ensure that their extra costs will not also be passed on to consumers?
I have spoken with Mairi Gougeon about hosting the next meeting of the UK Agricultural Partnership at the James Hutton Institute. On wider points, after the 2016 referendum household spending on food actually went down, but prices are governed by energy costs and exchange rates.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not specify support packages beyond acknowledging plans for a summit and referencing existing conditions without new commitments.
Acknowledges Plans But Does Not Commit To Specifics
Response accuracy