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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of supply chain issues affecting bean and pulse farmers in the UK.

This Government is committed to our horticulture and arable sectors and their role in providing home‑grown produce. The Horticulture Sector Plan is an independent sector led plan aiming to identify how the sector can increase productivity, profitability and strengthen the contribution of domestic production to our national food security. The plan is relying on sector expertise to set out a clear vision for growth and a practical pathway to deliver it. Fresh beans and pulses grown as horticultural crops are in scope. While pulses cultivated as arable crops are outside scope, they are a vital part of domestic agricultural production.

Defra engages regularly with growers and industry stakeholders to understand challenges affecting the beans and pulse sector and their supply chains.