Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Food Security

Thursday 6 July 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The first UK food security report was published in 2021 and the next is due in 2024.
  • The Chancellor of the Exchequer has introduced a package of support for families with cost of living challenges, averaging over 3,000 per household.
  • The UK has robust food supply chains but there are areas for improvement as indicated by the Shropshire review.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Chris Elmore Lab Bridgend
Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

Chris Elmore raised concerns about the adequacy of UK food security in light of ongoing challenges and previous assessments.

Question

What recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of UK food security? The first UK food security report was published in 2021, but there is a need for regular evaluations to ensure food security and address issues such as supply chain efficiency and support for primary producers.

Answer from Mark Spencer

The first UK food security report, introduced in the Agriculture Act 2020, was published in 2021; the next one is due in 2024. The F4 group meets regularly and reports directly to Ministers. We recently met representatives from the whole supply chain at the UK Farm to Fork summit in Downing Street.

Answered
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Q2 Chris Elmore Lab Bridgend
Economy Benefits & Welfare Environment
Context

Elmore raised concerns about constituents' inability to afford basic foodstuffs, highlighting the role of organisations like FareShare in addressing food insecurity. He questioned how the Minister could resolve issues related to food affordability.

Question

I have raised access to food before with the Minister and, in particular, how surplus food and food near its use-by date can be used by organisations such as FareShare. There is still a huge problem right across the country whereby constituents cannot afford to buy food in supermarkets, and are therefore relying on food pantries and food banks for their main shop. To have food security, people must be able to afford food. What more can the Minister do to resolve those issues and ensure that people are not literally starving, or in a position where they cannot afford to buy basic foodstuffs?

Answer from Mark Spencer

The hon. Gentleman will be aware of the huge package of support the Chancellor of the Exchequer has introduced to help families with the cost of living challenges they face. On average, every household receives over £3,000 of support with their energy and food bills, but I am sure we can do more to help and support primary food producers, processers and retailers to make sure that we drive as much efficiency as possible into the system, in order to maintain lower food prices and help families up and down the country.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific measures requested were not fully addressed; more focus on general support packages.

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Q3 Daniel Zeichner Lab Cambridge
Climate Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

Zeichner questioned the DEFRA ministerial team's progress on agriculture, land use, and labour supply issues following criticism from the Climate Change Committee and a report detailing crop losses.

Question

Last week, past failures caught up with the DEFRA ministerial team. First, the Climate Change Committee castigated them for lack of progress on agriculture and land use, and then the report they had commissioned from John Shropshire and his team detailed the crop losses and lost productivity and production caused by their failure to address labour supply issues. This week, could the Minister tell the House if he knows whether the UK is more or less food-secure than this time last year, and will he explain how he has reached that conclusion?

Answer from Mark Spencer

We have extensive conversations with the food supply market. We are blessed in the UK with very robust food supply chains, which are some of the most secure anywhere in the world. Of course, I acknowledge that the Shropshire review has indicated some areas in which we can improve and assist, but we have delivered the 45,000 visas that are available through the seasonal agricultural workers scheme. Not all of those visas have been taken up, and an extra 10,000 are available if required, but nobody has asked for that to be triggered.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific comparison requested was not directly addressed; more focus on existing measures.

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