Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Food Waste

Thursday 7 December 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 2 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • UK wastes around 30% of all food produced, contributing to 9% of greenhouse gas emissions and costing the economy 20 billion per year.
  • The UK has seen a 17% reduction in food waste since 2007, equivalent to 26 kg less waste per person.
  • Over 2 million will go to the food waste prevention programme this year, and industry initiatives have doubled the amount of food redistributed since 2019.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Andrew Selous Con
Climate Environment
Context

The question addresses the issue of food waste and its environmental and economic impacts, referencing a significant percentage of food being wasted annually.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to help reduce food waste. The UK wastes around 30% of all food produced, contributing to 9% of greenhouse gas emissions and costing the economy £20 billion per year.

Answer from Steve Barclay

The UK is an international leader in tackling food waste, which has fallen by 17% since 2007 or the equivalent of 26 kg per person. This year, over £2 million will go to our food waste prevention programme and we have a groundbreaking industry initiative that helps redistribute more food than ever before.

Answered
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Q2 Andrew Selous Con
Climate Environment
Context

The question builds on the initial query about food waste, focusing specifically on industry reporting and supply chain improvements.

Question

As I understand it, a third of all food is wasted, which contributes around 9% of greenhouse emissions and costs our economy about £20 billion a year. Will the Secretary of State consider introducing policies that reduce food waste across the supply chain, such as improved food waste reporting from industry?

Answer from Steve Barclay

My hon. Friend raises an extremely important point. Some 60% of food waste is wasted in the home, but the Courtauld commitment includes a groundbreaking voluntary agreement with industry that has doubled the amount of food redistributed in the last two years.

Partly answered

Not addressed: specific policies for supply chain improvements and reporting requirements

How: Voluntary Agreements

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Q3 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
Environment
Context

The question highlights local initiatives in Strangford where supermarkets redistribute food waste to community groups, emphasizing the need for broad participation.

Question

As the Secretary of State rightly says, if we are going to reduce food waste, that starts with everybody participating, including people at home and retail businesses. In Strangford, Asda, Tesco and Lidl all redistribute food waste to local community groups before it goes bad and becomes unpalatable.

Answer from Steve Barclay

The hon. Gentleman is right that the issue applies to all parties, which is why we fund Love Food Hate Waste and the Food Waste Action Week campaigns to raise awareness. Food waste is down 17% since 2007 and we have doubled the amount of food redistributed since 2019.

Answered
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