Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of food price inflation on the demand for emergency parcels from food banks in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the impact of rising food prices, which are occurring as a result of Putin's illegal war in Ukraine and the aftershocks of the pandemic are having a global impact, with food prices rising at home and abroad. We are keeping the market situation under review through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors all key agricultural commodities.
March 2023 food price inflation was 19.2%, an increase compared to February 2023 when it was 18.2%. Industry analyst expectations are that we are either at or very close to the food price inflation peak. They then expect food price inflation to gradually decrease over the remainder of 2023.This means that food prices are expected to still increase, but at a slower rate than before.
That’s why tackling inflation is this government’s number one priority, with a plan to more than halve inflation this year, and we’re monitoring all key agricultural commodities so that we can work with the food industry to address the challenges they face.
Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and HM Government does not have any role in their operation. There is no consistent and accurate measure of foodbank usage at a constituency or national level.
We understand the data limitations in this area, and therefore the Department for Work and Pensions introduced a set of questions into the Family Resources Survey to measure and track food bank usage. The first results, published last week, will help Government to understand more about the characteristics of people most in need and will shape Government to support the most vulnerable.
Latest statistics from DWPs Family Resources Survey show that in 2021/22, 93% of households in the UK were food secure (88% have high food security and 6% have marginal food security), virtually unchanged compared to 93% in 2020/21.
DEFRA has also increased our engagement with industry to supplement our analysis with real time intelligence. Defra will continue to work with food retailers and producers to explore the range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food. For example, by maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing measures.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of food security.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK 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. 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.
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 also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply.
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. It recognises the contribution made by British farmers to our resilience and considers the UK's food supply sources overall, noting that domestic production and diversity of supply are both important to our food security. The next Food Security Report will be published in 2024.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of the increases in the cost of living on the number of households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England that have fallen into arrears with their water supplier.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Every five years, Ofwat scrutinises each water company’s business plan to ensure value for customer money and sets an overall cap on the total amount that each company may recover from their customers, through a process called the Price Review. Each year, water companies must publish their charges, setting out the basis on which they will charge their customers within the cap set by Ofwat. This year’s increase in water charges relates primarily to the increase in the rate of inflation and subsequent increases to the water companies’ costs as a result of this. These costs and adjustments are in line with the revenue controls set by Ofwat for all water companies.
Severn Trent Water’s customers saw their average combined bill for a household in-crease by 7.2% and the average yearly water and sewerage bills in England and Wales increase by 7.5%. We do not track households that have fallen into arrears with their water bill payments, this would be undertaken by water companies. However, I am very mindful that consumers are concerned about their bills. All water companies offer WaterSure and social tariffs to help reduce bills for households who struggle to pay their bills in full. Water companies also offer a range of financial support measures to assist households to better manage their budgets and provide flexible payments including payment holidays, bill matching, benefit entitlement checks and money/debt advice referral arrangements. Government expects water companies to continue to actively engage with households and inform them of support measures they offer.
I encourage customers to access the Consumer Council for Water’s Advice Hub, which has information and useful tools to help customers reduce their bills or access financial support.
To support people with the cost of living, Government have put in place a substantial package of support. Further information can be found here: Cost of living support - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of trends in the level of food insecurity as a result of rising food prices on households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We are working hard to support everyone facing cost of living concerns. We continue to monitor food prices using the ONS inflation figures. Recent pressures have been sustained and we have seen food price inflation rise to 12.7% in July, up from 9.8% in June. Defra analysis, based on ONS data, shows that every one percentage point increase in food price inflation increases the average annual food bill of UK households by £34.
Defra is taking action to maintain an efficient food supply chain by mitigating against any potential burdens or friction which could otherwise drive up consumer food prices. For example, we have introduced labelling flexibility to reduce additional cost burdens resulting from the availability of sunflower oil. Defra is also holding regular discussions with industry to explore ways in which they can support low-income households by ensuring affordable food remains available, for example by maintaining value ranges, price matching, price freezing measures and the use of loyalty card offers.
This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes. We recently announced a new £15 billion support package to help families with the cost of living, bringing the total support for households this year to £37 billion. This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of household essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England this will take the form of an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421m, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. Devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula. Details of allocations to Upper Tier and Unitary Councils can be found at: Household Support Fund Grant Determination 2022 No 31/3096 (publishing.service.gov.uk).
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of trends in the level of food waste in each of the last five years; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of food wasted by (a) consumers, (b) supermarkets and (c) restaurants.
Answered by Steve Double
Periodic estimates of UK annual food waste levels are undertaken by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) with government funding:
Defra is investing £2.6 million this year to combat food waste. That includes working with and funding WRAP to address food waste in households and industry.
The Government’s funding supports the Courtauld 2030 Commitment, a voluntary agreement with the food industry with a target to halve food waste by 2030.
As well as tackling waste across supply chains, Courtauld signatories play a key role in providing consumers with support in reducing food waste at home, for example, by offering storage advice and appropriate labelling. The Government also funds WRAP's consumer campaigns such as Food Waste Action Week and Love Food Hate Waste (https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/), which aim to raise public awareness of food waste and the ways in which individuals can reduce it.
Defra also funds WRAP’s Guardians of Grub campaign and online learning programme (https://guardiansofgrub.com/) which aims to support the hospitality and food service sector to reduce food waste and associated costs. The aim is to embed good practice across the sector, to raise awareness of where food waste is arising and to take action by using free tools and resources.
Additionally, the Government is currently consulting on options to improve food waste reporting by large businesses; evidence shows measuring leads to a reduction in food waste: Improved food waste reporting by large food businesses in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the amount of water lost through leakage in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last three years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The most recent leakage data water companies reported to the Environment Agency is for the financial year ending March 2021. The reported data is at water company level. Coventry is served by Severn Trent Water, which also provides water services to wider parts of the West Midlands. South Staffordshire water also supplies water to customers in parts of the West Midlands.
Reported leakage for Severn Trent Water for the last three years in millions of litres per day (Ml/d) is as follows:
Reported leakage for South Staffordshire Water for the last three years in millions of litres per day (Ml/d) is as follows:
Reported leakage for England for the last three years in millions of litres per day (ml/d) is as follows:
The Government had set clear expectations that water companies should cut their leakage by 50% by 2050, based on 2018 levels.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of the increases in the cost of living on the number of households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England that have fallen into arrears with their water supplier.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All water companies offer WaterSure and social tariffs to help reduce bills for households who struggle to pay their bills in full. Water companies also offer a range of financial support measures to assist households to better manage their budgets and provide flexible payments including payment holidays, payment matching, benefit entitlement checks and money/debt advice referral arrangements. The Government expects water companies to continue to actively engage with households and inform them of support measures they offer. The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) works with water companies and Defra to monitor the uptake of affordability measures.
My officials are working with CCW, Ofwat, charities and water companies to explore the recommendations from CCW's Affordability Review, to further support households who are struggling to pay their water bills.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to mitigate the impact of rising food prices on consumers in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government is providing support worth around £22 billion in 2022/23 to help families with the rising cost of living. This includes an additional £421 million for the Household Support Fund in England to support households with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials over the coming months. Details of allocations to County Councils can be found at Household Support Fund Grant Determination 2022 No 31/3096 (publishing.service.gov.uk).
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of food price rises on household budgets in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government monitors consumer food prices using the Consumer Prices Index including Housing costs (CPIH). Food prices are traditionally impacted by a wide range of domestic and international factors – from local manufacturing costs to global commodity prices. Given strong competition in the UK food retail sector, retailers normally try to absorb short term cost pressures for a period of time. In any given year, food prices tend to go up and down. Food prices are set individually by businesses and it is not for the UK Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by companies.
Defra analysis suggests that a 1% increase in food prices costs the average household an additional £33 per year. The Government has put in place measures to support vulnerable and low-income households, including the £500 million Household Support Fund. Coventry City Council has been allocated £3,224,222.30 from this fund to support residents with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials over the coming months.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to help increase access to veterinary care for animal owners on low incomes in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The price charged for veterinary care is a commercial arrangement between veterinary practices and their customers. There are, however, charitable organisations across the country that support pet owners on low incomes, including the PDSA (Peoples Dispensary for Sick Animals) in the Coventry area. My officials are considering proposals for legislative reform from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons that would permit certain activities to be delegated to highly trained allied professionals. This may alter the costs of a range of services for all pet owners.