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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help retailers distribute surplus food to local charities.

The Government recognises the environmental, economic and social benefits of preventing food waste and redistributing surplus. Defra's Food and Drink Waste Hierarchy encourages food businesses, including retailers, to prioritise redistribution of any surplus should it arise.

Defra funds the groundbreaking UK Food and Drink Pact, a voluntary agreement with industry to tackle food waste, managed by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). Through the Pact, we support the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap, which helps businesses to identify and measure their surplus and waste and take steps to reduce it. This Target Measure Act approach enables food businesses to get more surplus to redistributors. Defra also engages a working group of supply chain and redistribution sector organisations to develop best practice and overcome barriers to redistribution.

Previous grant opportunities have helped the redistribution sector increase its capability and capacity for getting more surplus from the supply chain. Announced in December, £15 million has now been available to help the sector get more surplus food from farms to those in need.

The total amount of surplus food redistributed in the UK in 2023 was 191,000 tonnes, equating to nearly 456 million meals with a value of around £764 million.