Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that food parcels being distributed among Jewish and Muslim communities during the covid-19 outbreak are culturally appropriate and in line with the dietary requirements of those communities.

The offer has been developed at pace in response to the Covid emergency. The shielding cohort is diverse and we recognise some of the boxes contain products that may not be permitted culturally or for faith reasons by some groups.

In the standardised box which is delivered to individuals there is a note which explains that, should the individual have any allergies, or any religious or cultural dietary requirements, and are not able to eat some of the food and feel that the remaining contents of the package are not enough supplies for one week, they should contact their local authority.

The packages include tinned meat and tinned tuna, but as the product is packaged there is no risk of individuals having to touch foodstuffs that are unsuitable.