Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Lazarowicz Excerpts

Thursday 24th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Spelman]

That is one of the commitments that we gave in the natural environment White Paper. We have asked Ian Cheshire, the chairman of Kingfisher Group, to chair the ecosystems taskforce, together with a number of business leaders and scientists. This is an opportunity to help business in this country to take the chance, with the new green technologies and green growth, to grow our economy into a low-carbon economy, and beyond that, towards all the opportunities that realising the true value of natural capital can provide.

[Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Secretary of State give an update on the progress being made by her Government to tackle international speculation in food commodities? That is a major factor in driving up food prices, which is affecting our constituents and others internationally, and it needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency.

[Mrs Spelman]

The evidence regarding the role of speculation in the rise of food prices is perhaps not as clear as the hon. Gentleman sets out. The main reason for volatility in prices is that supply and demand are tight, and the best way to address that is to improve the supply of food to the market. Transparency is the key to helping to reduce volatility. We, as a Government, support greater transparency so that people around the world know who is producing what, where, and how much they have in stock. That will help to buffer prices.