Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the single-year funding arrangement for the School Milk Subsidy Scheme on the financial sustainability of the school milk dairy supply chain.

This is a devolved matter, and this response applies to England only.

The School Milk Subsidy Scheme is available in participating schools and supports the provision of milk, certain milk products and yoghurts.

The administration of the scheme is renewed regularly, and funding decisions are made on a single or multi-year basis, influenced by the timing and the duration of departmental spending reviews.

The volume of milk consumed under the scheme annually accounts for less than 1% of total UK milk production. It therefore has limited impact on the financial sustainability of those in the dairy supply chain who participate in the scheme.