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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her department has assessed the long-term implications of reliance on emergency food provision for the fulfilment of the right to food; and what steps she is taking to reduce structural dependence on such provision.

Defra has not assessed the implications of emergency food provision for fulfilment of a right to food. The Government is committed to tackling poverty and ending mass dependence on emergency food parcels. From 1 April 2026, The Government is introducing a new Crisis and Resilience Fund in England. This aims to enable local authorities to provide preventative support to communities as well as assisting people when faced with a financial crisis, to support the Government’s ambition to end mass dependence on emergency food parcels.