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1599732

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Food Supply
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current level of UK self-sufficiency in fruit and vegetables.
tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
uin	HL5931
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2023 answer text <p>The UK production to supply ratio for fresh fruit was 15% in 2021. For fresh vegetables, the ratio was 57%.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 13/03/2023 16:48:57 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

1589001

registered interest
date	23/02/2023
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Food Supply
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how long they expect the current food shortages in England, particularly of fruit and vegetables, to last; and what steps they are taking to help farmers and growers so that England is able to become more self-sufficient in terms of food production.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL5849
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2023 answer text <p>We remain in close contact with suppliers, who are clear that current issues relating to the availability of certain fruits and vegetables are predominately caused by poor weather in Spain and North Africa where they are produced. These issues have been caused by unseasonal weather hampering production and harvest during December and January. Disruption is anticipated to last for 2-4 weeks</p><p><br> While short term supplies might be tight, overall, the supply chain is robust, and we are keeping the market under review through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group.</p><p> </p><p>The capability, levers, and expertise to respond to disruption lie with industry. Government's role is to support and enable an industry-led response. UK Food Security remains resilient, and we continue to expect industry to be able to mitigate supply problems through alternative sourcing options.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has taken steps to support energy costs, cut tariffs to reduce feed costs, improved avian influenza compensation schemes and taken a range of measures on fertilisers.</p><p> </p><p>We work with industry bodies across the horticulture sectors, to monitor and assess the current market situation. We also work with colleagues in the Devolved Administrations at the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group (UK AMMG).</p><p><br> Minister Spencer held an industry roundtable with supermarkets on Monday 27 February to explore their plans for a return to normal supplies and contingencies for dealing with these supply chain problems.</p><p> </p><p>Recognising the importance of food security, in the Agriculture Act 2020, the Government made a commitment to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. The first UK food security report was published in December 2021.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 09/03/2023 12:41:41 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1548209

registered interest
date	02/12/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Food Supply
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of food security in the England.
tabling member printed	Baroness Kennedy of Cradley
uin	HL3968
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2023 answer text <p>The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 61% of all the food we need, and 74% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year, and these figures have changed little over the last 20 years. The first UK Food Security Report was published in December 2021. It considers the UK's food supply sources overall, summarises existing information and understanding, and serves as an evidence base for future policy work. The Government has made a commitment to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years.</p><p><br>Our food import dependency on the Eastern Europe region is very low, and we have strong domestic production of many of the products we do import. We do not expect any significant direct impact on overall UK food supply as a result of the conflict in Ukraine. We speak regularly with food industry figures, who remain confident in the food supply chain. The capability, levers, and expertise to respond to disruption lie with industry. Government's role is to support and enable an industry-led response. Defra has a collaborative relationship with industry which allows us to effectively respond to disruption, should it occur. This was successfully demonstrated in response to unprecedented disruption to both supply and demand throughout COVID-19.</p><p><br>We continue to keep the market situation under review through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments. We have also increased our engagement with industry to supplement our analysis with real time intelligence.</p><p><br>Agricultural commodity prices are closely correlated to energy costs since gas is used to manufacture fertiliser and fuel energy is needed throughout the food chain. Energy prices were rising following the pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine, a key global exporter of agricultural products, has caused additional turbulence in international commodity markets, for example the global prices of wheat, maize and vegetable oil have all increased since the start of the war.</p><p>The UK is working with G7 and other partners in multilateral fora such as the WTO, to monitor and address global food security issues, focusing on the ongoing benefits of open markets, and working together to ensure that sufficient, safe, affordable and nutritious food continues to be available and accessible to all.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 19/01/2023 12:02:08 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	4303 label Biography information for Baroness Kennedy of Cradley

1536127

registered interest
date	25/10/2022
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Food Supply
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the annual survey conducted by the Grocery Code Adjudicator which identified a deteriorating relationship between food suppliers and retailers; and what steps they will take to improve that relationship.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Exeter
uin	HL2870
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2022 answer text <p>The Government has noted the results of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) 2022 Groceries Sector Survey and encourages suppliers to raise concerns about non-compliance with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (the Code), in confidence, with the Adjudicator.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is currently undertaking the third statutory review of the effectiveness of the GCA in enforcing the Code and will consider the results of the GCA’s survey as part of the review alongside responses to the public consultation that ended on 11 October. A report on the findings of the statutory review will be published and laid before Parliament in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 08/11/2022 17:38:03 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	4929 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Exeter

1522691

registered interest
date	17/10/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Food Supply
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to encourage local authorities to support (1) local food networks, and (2) farmers’ markets.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL2643
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2022 answer text <p>We have a Manifesto commitment to encourage people at home and abroad to Buy British. We will always champion our farmers and producers and support their efforts to provide a reliable and sustainable supply of excellent British food to the public.</p><p>HM Government is working closely with local authorities, from Cornwall to Northumberland, to support rural economies. We are working closely on the Rural England Prosperity Fund, which launched on 3 September 2022. This is a rural top-up to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and supports HM Government’s Levelling Up White Paper and Future Farming Programme. It funds capital projects for small businesses and community infrastructure, which should help to improve productivity and growth in rural areas and strengthen the rural economy by supporting local jobs. Among other things, the Fund is aimed at encouraging farm businesses to consider diversifying their economic activity, including through support for initiatives such as community-owned shops that provide a platform to showcase local food and drink.</p><p>We also continue to work closely with local enterprise partnerships, as well as businesses and representative organisations, through regular engagement, regional workshop events, masterclasses and other events to develop local food and drink networks, promote local products and share best practice. As part of this engagement, we produced a ‘how to’ guide for businesses aimed at securing the benefits of selling their products at farmers’ markets.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 31/10/2022 16:20:37 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1520898

registered interest
date	11/10/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Food Supply
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that (1) farms, (2) food producers, (3) manufacturers, and (4) packagers, remain in business during this period of heightened energy costs in order to prevent a food shortage.
tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
uin	HL2501
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2022 answer text <p>While no national government can control the global factors pushing up the cost of energy, we will continue to support British business.</p><p>The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide a price reduction to make sure that all businesses, including chemical companies, and other non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. Non-domestic customers do not need to take action or apply to the scheme - support will automatically be applied to bills.</p><p>In addition, we have more than doubled our support for high energy usage businesses, reduced employer national insurance, slashed fuel duty, introduced a 50% business rates relief for eligible high street businesses and put the brakes on bill increases by freezing the business rates multiplier - worth £4.6 billion over the next five years.</p><p>HM Government is also supporting businesses to improve their energy efficiency by at least 20% by 2030. This could deliver up to £6 billion in cost savings by 2030.</p><p>We have extended the Energy Intensive Industries Compensation Scheme by three years and more than doubled its budget.</p><p>The United Kingdom has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the COVID-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 26/10/2022 12:13:16 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1520165

registered interest
date	10/10/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Food Supply
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to avoid food shortages this winter arising from water shortages and rising energy costs.
tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
uin	HL2426
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/11/2022 answer text <p>The United Kingdom has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the COVID-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes.</p><p> </p><p>The United Kingdom’s consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements domestic production, and also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply.</p><p> </p><p>Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across HM Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 02/11/2022 16:54:30 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	3792 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

1472998

registered interest
date	23/06/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Food Supply
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the global food security crisis of reduced exports of grain, fertiliser and other agricultural products as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL1240
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2022 answer text <p>The impact of the invasion is being felt around the world but most acutely in countries already facing dangerous levels of food insecurity. The World Food Programme estimates that if the war continues, up to 47 million more people could face acute food insecurity this year, bringing the total as high as 323 million by the end of the year. There is an estimated 25 million ton backlog of grain unable to leave Ukraine due to Putin's reckless blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports. The UK is working closely with our international partners to mitigate the impacts of Russia's actions and to tackle global food and nutrition insecurity. We are holding Russia's actions to account, being clear that Western sanctions are not to blame, supporting UN-led negotiations to reopen maritime routes for food exports from Ukraine's sea ports, and supporting efforts to transfer grain to global markets via rail routes.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 07/07/2022 13:29:00 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1461062

registered interest
date	10/05/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Food Supply
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the conflict in Ukraine on international food markets; and what steps they intend to take to ameliorate that impact.
tabling member printed	Baroness Anelay of St Johns
uin	HL11
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2022 answer text <p>Putin's illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is leading to further steep price rises in commodity markets, exacerbating the already deeply worrying deterioration in global food security. Even before the war, almost 1 billion people in 92 countries did not have enough food to eat on any given day, and 55 countries were already in acute hunger crises, emergency or famine conditions.</p><p><br>We know from the last crisis that the most immediate way to contain prices is to keep trade flowing. The UK has led a statement at the WTO, supported by nearly 60 countries, including a commitment by signatories to keep their food and agricultural markets open, predictable and transparent. We have announced a package of emergency humanitarian assistance to address critical rising food insecurity in the Horn of Africa and in Yemen and have pledged £286 million to meet needs in Afghanistan. Over the next 3 years, we will direct £3 billion to the most vulnerable countries and people to help them recover from crises. With our G7 allies, we support Germany's proposal for a Global Alliance on Food Security, to help scale up a rapid, needs-based coordinated response in a way that avoids a fragmented global response.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 24/05/2022 14:31:04 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns

1455675

registered interest
date	29/03/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Food Supply
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a National Food Security Council.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL7467
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2022 answer text <p>The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production and imports through stable trade routes.</p><p> </p><p>Defra already has well established ways of working with the industry. Ministers and officials meet with the food industry, through forums such as the F4 industry group (comprising the Food and Drink Federation, British Retail Consortium, National Farmers Union and Hospitality UK), the Food Supply Chain Resilience Planning Group, the Retailer Forum and the Food Resilience Industry Forum, in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.</p><p> </p><p>Recognising the importance of this subject, in the Agriculture Act 2020, the Government made a commitment to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. The first UK Food Security Report was published in December 2021. This report will serve as an evidence base for future policy work.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 20/04/2022 13:01:22 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick