The Lord Bishop of St Albans
To ask His Majesty’s Government, following reports that the United Kingdom faces shortages of broccoli and cauliflower this spring, what steps they are taking to support farmers and growers to adapt to climate change.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans
My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition. I thank those Members of your Lordships’ House who have signed up to engage today on what I believe is an important and topical issue. Our debate is about the shortage of great British broccoli and cauliflowers—and, of course, many other vegetables as well—which have been part of our staple diet for years, and the difficulties caused, at least in part, by climate degradation. It is fitting that we have this debate just prior to the start of agri-science week in this Parliament.
Farming is an extremely tough profession at the best of times, and the range of setbacks and difficulties our farmers face is huge. I have to say I am deeply troubled by the low morale and depression that I hear at the moment from farms across my diocese, in all corners of the agricultural world. I want to take a moment here to pay tribute to all farmers and those involved in associated industries for their hard work, their dedication, their resilience and the critical services they provide to us all as they produce food. We must not take them for granted.
There is no doubt that climate change is creating many challenges for farming. No community or country has been immune from the effects of our changing planet, from failed harvests and changing rainfall patterns. As climate security threats escalate, they pose profound challenges to our national security. However, I also want to emphasise the vast field of opportunity that the agricultural industry represents as a major contributor of economic growth, representing an opportunity to put the UK at the front and centre of innovative, sustainable and future-thinking policy solutions. Farmers are uniquely placed to solve some of the most pressing challenges we face when it comes to climate change.
The increase in frequency of extreme weather events and the changing climate cannot go unnoticed. My noble colleagues may recall that I led a debate in the House last October on the impacts of flooding on farming. I see that the Met Office has again instigated yellow warnings for the next few days. In the age of climate change, extreme weather does not just mean more rainfall but could also mean more heatwaves, droughts, storms and even unusually cold weather. Heavy rainfall this past autumn and winter has damaged crops, particularly cauliflower and broccoli, while the mild winter has resulted in some crops arriving earlier than expected. Much of our broccoli would normally be imported from Spain, but the crops there have been devastated by heavy rainfall and flooding, particularly in Valencia and the areas around it, so it is difficult to supplement our supplies with imports from Europe.
September 2024 saw farmers face collective losses of around £600 million following what emerged as one of the worst harvests on record, after staggering levels of rainfall. Climate change threatens the sustainability and profitability of farming businesses, as well as our food security. His Majesty’s Government initiated a strategic defence review and are undertaking a review of national resilience. However, a report published in October 2024 by the University of Exeter, Chatham House and the IPPR highlighted climate change as a glaring blind spot in the UK’s national security strategy, with risks to the food supply chain as a critical concern. These threats have been significantly and consistently underestimated and now feature as major security threats.
Defra’s Food Security report, published last year, highlights the significance of rising food insecurity, precipitated by climate change, among other factors. UK self-sufficiency when it comes to food production has declined since the 1980s and is far lower when it comes to fresh fruit and vegetables—somewhere in the region of 53%, much lower than for other crops such as cereals. In addition, food waste represents a significant economic and environmental loss in the UK food system. The report also highlights the degradation of the UK’s natural capital as a key factor threatening our capacity to produce food into the future. Environmental restoration and sustainable, high-quality food production have to go hand in hand.
That brings me to the opportunity that these climate-based challenges pose. The agricultural sector is ripe for innovation and investment. Huge amounts of excellent work are already taking place. This is a vital opportunity that must not be missed. For example, in my diocese in Hertfordshire an organisation called Groundswell, with which some noble Lords will be familiar, is doing brilliant work, providing a forum for stakeholders to learn about regenerative agriculture, including no-till, cover crops and various other methods of improving soil health and thereby reducing the impacts of erosion, pollution and flooding. Some of this farming is at the forefront of world technology; we are making great progress that we should be hugely proud of and celebrate. Resilient agriculture is sustainable agriculture. This is one of the core beliefs of Groundswell, with the evidence showing that nature-friendly farming does not need to oppose profitability with environmental concern. They can be symbiotic.
The APPG on Science and Technology in Agriculture published a report earlier this week highlighting eight key areas for farming innovation that would help towards improving our national food security and meeting the Government’s net-zero targets. I will pick out just one: the use of novel protein sources for animal feed. The development of insect protein as animal feed alone is set to become an $8 to $12 billion global market by 2030. That is an immense economic growth opportunity for the UK to harness and represents a window for us to become a world leader in the science of insect farming. Insect proteins are a very low-carbon alternative to other protein feed sources, thereby contributing to the Government’s net-zero targets and combating some of the negative impacts that farming has at the moment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
If we can overcome regulatory and policy obstacles, ensure that the barriers to innovation and adoption of new technologies do not get in our way and roll out, share, develop and implement best practice across the entire industry, we could be a world leader in sustainable, green agriculture while increasing our food production and improving our self-sufficiency. I do not have time to go into detail on the rest of the policy recommendations in the APPG’s excellent report, but I hope the Minister and relevant officials will read it in detail.
I very much look forward to hearing other noble Lords’ contributions to today’s debate and to hearing from the Minister what the Government’s plan is to ensure that the UK is proactive and innovative in its approach to farming, climate change and food security. We need to work with our farmers, who play such a valuable role, and protect our supplies of cauliflower and broccoli for future generations.
Baroness Shephard of Northwold (Con)
My Lords, I congratulate the right reverend Prelate on again bringing a very timely issue to this House. Food insecurity is a serious matter and is increasing across the world, partly because of global conflict, the pandemic and of course climate change. Our severe weather events in the UK—the result of climate change—have included the wettest period on record, as he mentioned, between September 2022 and February 2024. This obviously affected livestock and the drilling of cereals. The first estimate of the 2024 cereals and oilseed harvest in England shows a 22% reduction in wheat compared with 2023.
Inevitably, domestic food security will be increasingly threatened by these severe weather events, as the right reverend Prelate pointed out. The measures which can be taken—improved drainage, drought-resistant crop varieties and sustainable soil management, as he mentioned—require investment and government support.
Our farmers produce about 60% of our food. Despite the global shocks of Covid and global energy price rises, our national food security has shown some resilience, but the horticulture sector faces particular challenges, such as labour supply problems and high regulatory requirements. Like all employers, growers face increases in national insurance contributions and the national living wage, and the cumulative effect means that there will inevitably be less investment, with some growers leaving the industry altogether.
Obviously, a real problem for farmers and growers—who are the guardians of our food security—is the effect of the recent Budget. I am sorry to grind on about this again, but it is in the forefront of my mind and those of all farmers and growers. The IHT changes are the most serious because they will reduce stability, confidence and therefore investment in the whole sector. Horticulture is arguably the most vulnerable to severe weather events, so it is likely to be the worst affected. Given the outraged reaction across rural communities against the Budget, I would like to believe that the Government will respond positively and helpfully. So far, that is not the case. We are talking about food security; it is a serious matter, and it is most certainly not the time to plunge rural communities into deep apprehension about the whole future of agriculture and horticulture.
I assume the Government must be getting feedback from their own MPs, newly elected to rural constituencies. They must know that the furious reactions from rural communities to their Budget, which included farmers’ demonstrations—unprecedented, in my experience—are not going to diminish, and rightly so. Our food security is at stake; it is one of the most serious issues facing the Government and they need to take it seriously.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Con)
My Lords, this may be a Question for Short Debate, but the right reverend Prelate has attracted a fine speakers’ list which includes many of my noble friends, and I am delighted to follow my noble friend Lady Shephard.
Noble Lords will know of my interest through my family’s business, and I am delighted that the right reverend Prelate has given us the opportunity to discuss one of the many issues creating worry and anxiety among farmers and growers. What he perhaps does not know is that Taylors grow both overwintered cauliflower and broccoli, double-cropping it with summer planting under a Lincolnshire cropping agreement—so, unlike some occasions when I speak here, I know of what I speak today.
The right reverend Prelate has read of the shortages expected this spring. That flies in the face of the company that plants, harvests and markets the crop on our farm, which agrees with me that it is a long time since the crop looked so good. However, the point that this Question raises is valid, for the labour to harvest those crops in early spring is hard to find, and the acreage may well be correspondingly reduced.
We are right to talk in this debate about climate change or unpredictable weather, for undoubtedly this has been a very difficult time for farmers and growers as they face the consequences of flooding. Defra issued a very useful press release addressing the issue on 7 January, following a meeting with the Environment Agency’s chief executive, Philip Duffy. But causes and consequences were perhaps better illustrated by the Lincolnshire Free Press of 14 January, which told of a farmer I know who has been waiting 12 months for the Environment Agency to repair a bank that topped in the Storm Henk overflow due to badger damage.
The Black Sluice pumping station was decommissioned some years ago on the grounds that it provided no benefit for people and their houses. Now, the Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board has noted that had the pumps been working, they would have got rid of half a million cubic metres from the swollen South Forty Foot Drain and saved my friend’s farm in the Bourne Fen area and properties in Boston from flooding.
The lesson is clear: the Environment Agency must get its priorities right, and the Government, if they want plentiful supplies of wholesome British produce, must ensure that the agency has the funds to do so.
The Earl of Caithness (Con)
My Lords, agriculture is possibly unique in its relationship to climate change. At the same time it is a major cause, victim and source of solutions. I have often spoken about the need for farming to reduce its environmental footprint, but I stress that this can and must happen at the same time as an increase in farm productivity. The world needs to increase food production and availability by up to 70% over the next 25 years to keep pace with the needs of a rapidly expanding global population. As the right reverend Prelate said—and I thank him for introducing this debate—our agricultural productivity growth is negligible.
To help farmers cope with the changing climate, there must be a long-term strategic plan for managing water scarcity and flooding events, and the infrastructure to capture, store and move water in times of plenty, taking a whole-catchment approach. Managing the wider landscape by improving soil management to increase the rate at which water permeates the ground, reducing surface run-off, is an additional approach to managing flood risk.
Although a simple beetle bank of coarse grasses planted on a slope, as invented by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, can increase water infiltration rates by up to nine times, Rothamsted Research argues that the winter rain is now so great that multiple lines of defence are needed. Within SFI there are some useful options to help farmers, but will the Government consider incentivising farmers to employ and install treatment drains, given the huge environmental benefits to be gained? That would be an easy and cheap win.
We cannot afford to overlook the contribution of science and innovation, not only in improving the productivity and efficiency of farming but in directly reducing GHG emissions. Gene editing is one such opportunity, and I wholeheartedly welcome the recent confirmation from Defra that the secondary legislation needed to implement the precision breeding Act will be introduced to Parliament by the end of March this year.
Alongside gene editing, from methane-inhibiting feed additives and green fertilisers to novel proteins and precision farming, there are enormous opportunities for scientific innovation to help farmers both adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Many are discussed in the new report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture, of which I am a member, entitled Farming Innovations to Deliver Net Zero, which I commend to the House. It has been produced in advance of Agri-Science Week in Parliament, which the all-party group is hosting in the Upper Waiting Hall next week. Has the Minister read the report, and will he encourage all Defra and Treasury Ministers to visit the exhibition next week?
Lord Framlingham (Con)
My Lords, when I spoke in a recent debate on agriculture, I took as my text “Barley, Not Bulrushes”. I still think that is an excellent slogan: it sums up in three words the utter nonsense of current policies coming from Defra, the department responsible for feeding our nation, which no longer has either “farming” or “agriculture” in its title.
I long for the good old days of MAFF—the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. It understood farmers and farming and is sorely missed. I feel very much that with this change in title has come a change in purpose and priorities. Feeding the people and maintaining a healthy, balanced countryside is crucial to our nation’s well-being. We lose sight of this at our peril, and we are rapidly doing just that.
Our worldwide striving to increase food production is as old as time itself. Broccoli and cauliflower are excellent examples of growers’ ability to experiment and improve. Along with Brussels sprouts, they all belong to the cabbage family and derive originally from broccoli, which was enjoyed by the Romans in the sixth century BC. In fact, Pliny the Elder wrote in the first century AD that broccoli was a standard favourite in Rome. By careful selection and breeding over the centuries, we now have many different and improved vegetables to enjoy.
Improvement is the watchword. Farmers and landowners in the 17th and 18th centuries bred better livestock and improved all farming practices. They were known as the improvers, and so it has continued until the present day, with massive improvements in yields, both arable and livestock, and the use of computers to plant and to harvest. Some crops can even now be grown without soil—a technique known as hydroponics. All seemed set fair to continue improving, but the Government had other ideas.
In the name of a crackpot scheme called “net zero”, fertile, well-drained, carefully cultivated and productive farmland is to be flooded to grow bulrushes. Just when we need it most, growing food is no longer a farmer’s top priority. Is it any wonder that farmers are asking the nation what is expected of them? The farmers and their sons and daughters, whose families have nurtured their land for generations, are to be deliberately—I stress “deliberately”—taxed out of existence. It must be stopped.
The Motion asks what steps the Government
“are taking to support farmers … to adapt to climate change”.
The answer is: they do not need help for this purpose. Any climate change that takes place will be gradual, and farmers are famously imaginative and resourceful. They will produce our food if only we let them get on with it.
There is an old saying: “If you can’t help, don’t hinder”. If we really want to help both our farmers and food production, we should do two things: drop the destructive inheritance tax proposals and abandon plans to flood farmland or smother it in solar panels. We should remain faithful to our agricultural traditions and improve, not destroy. The slogan should be—must be—“Barley, Not Bulrushes”.
Lord Fuller (Con)
My Lords, my noble friend Lord Framlingham has reminded us of the many different members of the brassica family, which include tenderstem and sprouting varieties of broccoli, mustard, oilseed rape, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and Calabrese—even the purple sprouting broccoli, which matches the colour of the right reverend Prelate’s episcopal garb.
Broccoli is good in iron and high in fibre, and sprouts can be strong in taste. This is particularly important, because we are not getting enough vegetables in our diet at the moment. We know that curly kale is packed with antioxidants that reduce inflammation, and the Telegraph tells us of how green smoothies can slow brain ageing—which is important in this place. John Innes has bred a fast-growing broccoli that can be harvested twice a year in the field and five times in the greenhouse. I suppose I should declare my interest in the agricultural and farming industries in Norfolk, because I know that our local farmers grow strong English mustard, and the more of their products that are left on the side of the plate, the more prosperous they will become, and deservedly so.
So, let us celebrate this humble family of vegetables, which we are being told is in the middle of a cauliflower crisis—and which, we are told, is being caused by climate change. I just do not buy it. I am sorry to bring a sour note to proceedings. I am not bitter, like undercooked sprouts can sometimes be. But let us examine the real reasons for the right reverend Prelate’s fears.
This year, slugs are a particularly bad problem for broccoli and caulis. Unfortunately, owing to the slow performance in the chemicals regulation division of the Health and Safety Executive, a new and more benign slug control pellet is not coming to the market fast enough, because the new slug pellet that was released for assessment in 2020 is still not approved. As a result, the crops are harder to grow.
A lack of skilled staff under the seasonal agricultural workers scheme has made the crop harder to harvest, and progress on robotics to replace this labour is slower, so it is harder to grow. Not allowing UK producers to treat homegrown seeds for cabbage stem flea beetle, but permitting the use of pretreated seed from Canada or Ukraine, has given overseas growers competitive advantage. We know that brassicas need sulphur to grow strongly, and cleaning up the power stations has made the crop harder to grow as well.
Our larger supermarkets share the concerns raised by my noble friends about the new inheritance taxes that will stifle innovation and investment and put our farming industry on the back foot. New packaging taxes make it harder to profitably present our products on the shelf. The conversion of land to solar production on grade 1 farmland in Lincolnshire, the county of my noble friend, makes it harder to grow too.
Taken together, it is a miracle we have any broccoli at all, especially when the British Growers Association tells us that British growers have scaled back production since 2017 as a result of poor profitability and reducing yields, not climate change. I do not want to trivialise the difficulties caused by bad weather—hot or cold, dry or wet. I know how many parts of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire have been under water for months, but let us be honest with ourselves: this is nothing to do with climate change, which was debated seven days ago in your Lordships’ House. Shroud-waving on climate change when it has absolutely nothing to do with the broccoli breakdown is obscuring scrutiny of the real underlying causes that the right reverend Prelate raises. Look: it is time to change the record and to prioritise the practical actions that will get Britain farming immediately, rather than falsely concluding, “Well, there is no point, because the Chinese are opening a new coal-fired power station every other week”.
Lord Hannan of Kingsclere (Con)
My Lords, there is a lamentable tendency in the debates of the nation—and even in the discourses of your Lordships’ House—to elide from food security to self-sufficiency. We heard it a little just now. It was hinted at by the right reverend Prelate in introducing the Motion. He did not exactly make the link, but he spoke about the decline in self-sufficiency since the 1980s, and it was made explicit by some of my noble friends on this side, but it is fallacious, it is specious and a moment’s thought reveals why. Food security depends on being able to source your supplies from the widest possible diversity of suppliers, so that you are not vulnerable to a localised shock or disruption, which might as easily happen on your own territory as anywhere else.
When we come specifically to the broccoli and cauliflowers being debated this afternoon, I think we have a pretty robust and diverse system in place. Yes, we grow a lot of these brassica in Lincolnshire—I think that is the most concentrated place—some of it from my noble friend Lord Taylor, but all of it, I am sure, excellent. We then buy from the EU—mainly Spain, a little bit from France—and then we buy from beyond, from Morocco, from Kenya and, I, think a little bit from Mexico.
The difference is that, when we move beyond the EU, at a time when we are complaining about these shortages, we are still, incredibly, applying tariffs. We are saying that we do not have enough of the stuff and we do not have food security, and yet we have, if I understood the figures from the department this morning correctly, an 8% tariff for most of the year on brassica—or at least on chilled and non-chilled fresh cauliflower and headed broccoli from countries that either are not in the EU or with which we do not have a special trade deal. How on earth can that be sensible?
I at least understand that we produce some of our own brassica in this country. When we look at some of the other food tariffs, it becomes utterly unsustainable. I have gone on and on endlessly in your Lordships’ Chamber about the tariffs we continue to impose on Moroccan tomatoes, even though we produce barely any tomatoes. I know we produce some tomatoes—I used to be a Member of the European Parliament and I had the Isle of Wight in my constituency—but even at the height of our very short tomato-growing season, we are still importing about 80% of our tomatoes. Whom do we think we are protecting?
If we think it is silly when we get to tomatoes, let us consider the real spike in prices which is happening this year in our supermarkets, which is of olive oil, as a result of some of the same climatic changes that were being discussed earlier. We do not grow any olives in this country, to my knowledge. There is always some story in the Telegraph about someone in Cornwall having managed to grow tea or something, so maybe we do—no offence if any Cornish olive growers or would-be olive growers are watching on television, but let me say that we are not a major producer of olives, yet we are still imposing tariffs on olives and olive oil imported from Turkey, Tunisia or wherever it is.
In other words, we inherited tariff schedules from the EU that were designed to protect growers, particularly in Spain but also in Italy, Portugal and France, and five years almost to the day since Brexit, we have still not repealed them. This country led the way as a free trader, especially in foodstuffs. For the century that led up to the 1930s, it made us the richest place in the world. The parties that were in the forefront of arguing for what was, in a phrase of the Labour Chancellor, Philip Snowden, the “free breakfast table”, were the Lib Dems of the day and, after its foundation, the Labour Party. They understood that agricultural protectionism is a racket whereby the poor are forced to pay the rich. Now that we have these freedoms and are once again in charge of our own trade policy, please can the party opposite look to its own heritage and recover that global vision which once made us the wealthiest and most prosperous country on earth?
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)
My Lords, I congratulate the right reverend Prelate on securing this debate and welcome the Minister to his place.
I will share with my noble friend Lord Hannan the figures that I have received from the Library. Our exports to the EU of fruit and vegetables combined, in the 12 months to November 2024, were £378 million in value. Our imports from the EU were £5,086 million. There seems to be a bit of a mismatch there, so his plea to remove tariffs does not seem to be working. We are importing millions of pounds-worth more in fruit and vegetables from the EU that we are exporting to it.
Today, we are looking at potential shortages of broccoli and cauliflower, and regrettably also of other greens, such as kale, brassicas such as collard greens, and turnips. This is very disappointing for someone who loves their greens, as I do. The Minister is in a good position to help vegetable growers with how climate change is impacting them. What steps is he taking to protect farmland from loss of crops and vegetables through floodwater, and through coastal erosion? What steps, such as adaptation measures, is Defra looking at to protect farmland? I declare my interest as a vice-president of the Association of Drainage Authorities and join my noble friend Lord Taylor in paying tribute to the work that it does.
Will farmers be reimbursed for storing floodwater on farmland? Can the Minister confirm that this will not breach the current de minimis rules under the relevant reservoir Act? Currently, farmers are not funded to store water on their farmland, nor are they reimbursed for managed retreat encroaching through coastal erosion. Will Defra and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ensure that internal drainage boards are properly funded and resourced to do the excellent work of draining and dredging that they do? Their work is entirely complementary to the work of the Environment Agency but performs a function that no one else is reimbursed for or paid for on minor watercourses throughout low-lying areas of England.
On the wider issue of self-sufficiency, given the figures I referred to earlier and the increased threat to food security from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other global conflicts, what steps will Defra and the Department for Business and Trade take to boost self-sufficiency at home in fruit and vegetables, and boost opportunities to increase our exports abroad? These trade issues have been debated on many occasions in this House, not least during the passage of the agriculture, environment and trade Acts, and more recently in discussions around individual trade agreements. We must take measures to boost production of fruit and vegetables at home and opportunities to export. Some 62% of the food that we need is produced at home, but only 53% of fresh vegetables and, woefully, 16% of fruit. I hope the Minister takes heed of and looks at this. Will he address it through the land use framework, which we look forward to, and respond to the NFU’s plea to Defra to ensure that all ELM schemes are available and properly resourced?
Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)
My Lords, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans has, as always, set out his case with clarity and knowledge. The likely shortage of broccoli and cauliflower is due to the very wet and mild weather in the late autumn and run-up to Christmas, which caused early ripening, coupled with the twin blight of pigeons and slugs. Many growers are concerned about how they will fill the “hunger gap”, which occurs when winter crops have finished and the late spring/early summer ones are not ready. This shortage has yet to reach the No. 1 Millbank House Restaurant, where today the soup was broccoli and the vegetarian option cauliflower steak—demonstrating how popular these vegetables are.
Climate change is affecting not only the UK but our neighbours in Europe, including Spain, who are finding the weather changeable and problematic for their growing seasons. Yesterday, I went to the evidence session in the Jubilee Room and heard about muddy flooding, which attempts to engage farmers in using their land slightly differently in order to prevent flooding and soil erosion and produce more crops at the same time. Both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Climate Change Committee have flagged public funding, along with political commitment, as essential to taking this matter forward.
ELMS have taken over from the BPS, but the rollout has been slow and often complicated. Some schemes appear impossible for farmers to access. The issue of paying farmers to store water, especially on flood plains—where the land cannot be used in the winter—has been raised in this House previously. The noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, referred to this. Have the Government moved forward on this issue? IDBs have a vital role to play in water management and storage, and do a brilliant job.
The House of Lords Library brief indicates, quite rightly, that climate change is human induced; therefore, it is up to humans to try to remedy what is happening. Farmers are not sitting around idly; they are some of the hardest workers in the country and have little time to delve into possible solutions on how to grow innovative, more resilient crops or farm their land differently. It is, therefore, up to the Government and Defra to help them with schemes that will take them forward. The remit of ELMS should be widened.
I will take my extra minute to raise the OEP. On Tuesday, I attended a webinar with its chair, Dame Glenys Stacey, who took us through the OEP’s annual report, which covers both Governments’ periods in office. The change of Government does not alter the legal requirements to meet the targets set by the OEP. Of the 43 targets, only nine are on track, 12 are practically on track, 20 are largely off track and two could not be assessed. Goal 5, to minimise waste, has moved to red. Goal 4, to manage exposure to chemicals and pesticides, has moved from amber to red. ELMS are not delivering due to lack of progress on water compliance. This is coupled with a lack of progress on climate change targets. It was one of the most depressing hours that I have spent in a long time.
Climate change affects the whole world, including America: Los Angeles is in ashes, Mobile in Alabama is under six inches of snow—a record since 1895—and the President plans to take the US out of the Paris accords. I am shocked by the lack of vision and understanding demonstrated by some of the Conservative speakers. It is no wonder they lost the election.
Given the OEP’s report, is there any hope for us that at least the UK Government know which way is up and will now take climate change seriously? If not, I fear for the future of the horticulture and farming industries.
The Earl of Effingham (Con)
My Lords, I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans for securing this important debate. He is rightly concerned about the effect of extreme weather caused by climate change on our food security. His Majesty’s Official Opposition are firmly supportive of any measures that will protect our environment and we will continue to work constructively and collaboratively with the Government to ensure that we are taking the right steps to achieve our environmental goals.
On our watch, we made major progress on these, passing our benchmark Environment Act 2021. Our approach was a pragmatic one, setting ambitious targets to decarbonise and rapidly increase our renewable energy supply while seeking to balance those ambitious goals with the need to protect consumers from unsustainable price hikes. We also put vital measures in place to support farmers affected by extreme weather events, such as the £50 million farming recovery fund.
Yesterday, Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain, warned that the UK’s future food security is at risk due to the farmers tax. It is fair and reasonable to challenge the Government for placing our food security at risk. Not only is the future of family farms in jeopardy as a result of the family farm tax, but many businesses in our food supply chain will struggle with the Government’s decision to increase employer national insurance contributions. This double whammy of tax hikes will hit our food supply chain hard and creates a potential litany of problems when combined with extreme weather events.
The noble Baroness, Lady Shephard, mentioned the family farm tax and national insurance contributions, while the noble Lords, Lord Framlingham and Lord Fuller, also mentioned the family farm tax. We urgently request that the Minister listens to Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Lidl, Aldi, Co-op and M&S, all of which have come out saying that we need to pause and rethink the farmers tax policy. How can the Government ignore the voices that supply 73% of the UK population with their food?
What progress have the Government made to deliver additional support for farmers who have already been adversely affected by extreme weather events? What incremental steps are the Government taking to support farmers in the future, to ensure that sufficient help is available should the extreme weather we have seen in recent years continue and even worsen? Finally, can the Minister confirm to your Lordships’ House what discussions he and his colleagues have had with the supermarkets that I mentioned and what remedial action will he take to allay Tesco’s concerns that
“the UK’s future food security is at stake”
as a result of the Government’s family farm tax?
Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Leong) (Lab)
My Lords, I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans for securing this debate and all noble Lords who have contributed. I declare an interest: I had broccoli this afternoon and it was very nice indeed. I welcome the opportunity to respond on the steps that the Government are taking to support farmers and growers to adapt to climate change. With respect, and if noble Lords will forgive me, I will respond to questions related to this Question for Short Debate.
Strengthening food security by supporting our farmers and food producers is a top priority for this Government. Food production faces pressing risks from climate change and nature loss over the long term. As the right reverend Prelate, the noble Earl, Lord Effingham, and the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, indicated, Met Office projections show us that the UK can expect warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers. However, the precise impacts, severity and speed of climate change are harder to predict. What we expect is that, as the shocks and stresses happen from climate change, ensuring continued production and supply of nutritious food will become increasingly difficult. Defra is taking action to reduce the impact and to support the continued production and supply of food in the UK.
The third national adaptation programme, published in July 2023, was brought in by the last Government—I thank them for doing so—and set out the Government’s policies to adapt to climate change over the period from 2023 to 2028. It sets out a range of measures to improve resilience and adaptation to climate change across the food supply and farming sector. Alongside delivering the third national adaptation programme, Defra is committed to further strengthening this Government’s approach to climate resilience and will bring forward plans in due course.
Several noble Lords mentioned food security. The UK has a resilient food supply chain and is equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Our food security is built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production and imports through stable trade routes, as was so expressively illustrated by the noble Lord, Lord Hannan. UK 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 ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK’s overall supply of food.
Defra works right across industry and 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 our food supply chains. Although industry does not see an immediate issue with broccoli and cauliflower supply, we will continue to monitor this risk closely. Meanwhile, the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which has representatives from all the devolved nations, monitors the UK agricultural markets, including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments.
Food security is national security and cannot be taken for granted. We need a resilient and healthy food system that works with nature and supports British farmers, fishers and food producers. That is why this Government will introduce a new deal for farmers to boost rural economic growth and strengthen Britain’s food security.
This Government are investing £5 billion into farming over the next two years—the largest ever investment directed at sustainable food production in our country’s history. We are going further to develop a 25-year farming road map to make the sector more profitable in the decades to come. We will provide farmers and land managers with the support that they need to help restore nature. That is vital to building our resilience to climate change, securing our long-term food security and supporting productivity. It means carrying on the transition away from payment for land ownership and towards paying to deliver public goods for the environment. It also means continuing to use regulation to require minimum standards, which will be designed in partnership with farmers and with sufficient lead-in times given for change.
This Government will continue to invest in the sector to support farmers to make their businesses, food production and our country more sustainable and resilient through environmental land management schemes, or ELMS. ELMS will remain at the centre of our offer for farmers, with the sustainable farming incentive, countryside stewardship higher tier and landscape recovery all continuing.
Adapting to climate change, including extreme weather, is a shared responsibility. By building resilience now, we can reduce the costs and disruption caused by significant flooding and wet conditions in the future that will have a negative impact on food production. We will continue to work with industry to support better risk management. The farming recovery fund has supported areas where farmland was most impacted by Storm Babet, Storm Henk and extreme weather between October 2023 and March 2024. In total, £57.5 million has been paid to around 12,700 farmers affected.
Several noble Lords asked about internal drainage boards. The delivery of the £75 million grant scheme is ongoing, helping to deliver two of the Government’s core priorities for Defra. These grants will help to protect agricultural land and rural communities from flooding, support IDBs’ recovery from winter flooding and modernise infrastructure to help lower costs for farmers and rural communities.
Building resilience is an important way to mitigate long-term risks associated with climate change and other environmental factors. We are working to create a future where farmers are empowered to manage their risks by taking forward-looking actions in their own businesses, supporting wider local action to manage flood and drought risk and harnessing the commercial insurance market. This will encourage a more resilient and sustainable agricultural sector. The whole agri-food industry has a role to play in climate adaptation, and the Government support industry-led efforts, such as the Food and Drink Sector Council’s subgroup on resilience.
The noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, and the right reverend Prelate also mentioned innovation to support adaptation. The Government are also engaged with research on food supply resilience in relation to climate change and adaptation measures through our work with the Met Office. Publicly funded research and innovation are enabling us to adapt to climate change more effectively while improving levels of food security. This includes investment under the farming innovation programme, which aims to drive up productivity and enhance environmental sustainability.
The noble Baroness, Lady Shephard, asked about labour shortages. I underline the Government’s commitment to the horticultural and poultry industries. The seasonal worker visa route has been confirmed for 2025, with a total of 43,000 seasonal worker visas available for next year.
Several noble Lords asked various questions, and I will try to respond as much as I can within my time. If I do not answer all of them, I will write to noble Lords and place a copy in the Library. The noble Lord, Lord Hannan, and the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, asked about trade agreements. The Government have restarted or will soon resume trade negotiations with several international partners. We also want to get food exports moving again through a veterinary agreement with the EU. This Government will expand global trade opportunities for Britain’s food and drink exports while upholding and protecting our high environmental and animal welfare standards in any future trade deals.
The noble Earl, Lord Caithness, asked about the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act. Now, this is something new. I have just been given information here. Precision-breeding technology could revolutionise England’s plant-breeding industry by dramatically reducing the time needed to develop new products from decades to just years. In September 2024, the Government announced that they would be laying secondary legislation to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2025 in England, and on 9 January 2025, we announced that we will be laying the legislation in March 2025. I hope the noble Earl will be happy with that.
Several noble Lords have mentioned the report by the APPG on science and technology in agriculture. I have read the summary, but not the whole report because of time. I encourage all parliamentarians to visit the exhibits next week in the Palace of Westminster, and I will be sharing that report with my colleagues elsewhere.
To conclude, I again thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans for securing this important debate. I assure all noble Lords that the Government, working in partnership with industry, are taking appropriate steps to ensure that our valued farmers and food producers can adapt to the challenges from climate change, now and in the future.