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.

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.