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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the organic food sector in the Midlands

I met with representatives of the English Organic Forum at the Oxford Farming Conference in January this year. The English Organic Forum is a collection of organic-focused organisations that have come together to represent the organic sector across England, which includes the Midlands, and we discussed challenges and opportunities for the organic sector. Defra officials routinely meet with representatives of the organic sector which includes the English Organic Forum and other sector representatives, organic Control Bodies and organic businesses.