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 (a) understand and (b) mitigate the risks to the food security of the UK population due to global climate change.

The second Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) published in 2017 identifies risks to domestic and international food production and trade as one of the UK’s top six risks from climate change. The second National Adaptation Programme (NAP) published in 2018, sets out a plan of actions across Government to address these risks (amongst others identified in the CCRA) over the following 5 years. Specifically the NAP includes actions to ensure a food supply chain which is resilient to the effects of a changing climate.

As part of the action referenced above, we are reviewing the UK Food Security Assessment, a comprehensive analysis of UK food security in a global context. It was last published as a whole document in 2010 although the underpinning statistics are updated and monitored on a regular basis. The Assessment has six themes: Global Food Security; Global Resource Sustainability; UK Availability and Access; UK Supply Chain Resilience; Household Food Security; Consumer Safety and Confidence.

The Government has also commissioned an independent review to develop recommendations to help shape a national food strategy. The National Food Strategy will carry out an integrated analysis of our food system, looking across the issues of food security, climate change and health to develop a series of recommendations for Government.