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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) discussions his Department has had and (b) preparations have been made with supermarkets on food shortages in the event of the transition period ending without a trade deal.

The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain and the food industry is well-equipped to respond to disruption as was seen during the initial Covid-19 response earlier this year.

Defra has well established ways of working with the food industry on preparedness for and response to potential food supply chain disruptions. Defra Ministers and officials meet regularly with the food industry, including the retailers, to support contingency planning by the industry.

Our thorough preparations for leaving the EU in 2019, alongside the lessons we have learned from, and the range of interventions deployed during the Covid-19 response provide a robust foundation for planning on food supply at the end of the transition period.

The Government made a new temporary relaxation of UK competition law for groceries-chain suppliers on 17 December 2020 - the Competition Act 1998 (Groceries) (Public Policy Exclusion) Order 2020. This relaxation will help grocery retailers and their suppliers to collaborate effectively to prepare for, and if required, respond to potential disruption.