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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the resilience of food supply chains to extreme weather events overseas.

The UK food supply chain is underpinned by diverse sources, robust domestic production and reliable import routes. Diversity remains a core strength, supporting response to disruptions, such as extreme weather events overseas, without significant impact on national food security.

Whilst the UK currently has a high degree of food security, it cannot be taken for granted.

Ongoing research through the Defra-funded Food, Farming and Natural Environment programme with the Met Office Hadley Centre will strengthen the evidence on adaptation options. It will also identify and evaluate key adaptation measures to improve the resilience of the agri-food sector, including cost and ease of implementation.