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 will take to increase food (a) security, (b) resilience and (c) localised routes to market in the UK.

Recognising the importance of food security, in the Agriculture Act 2020, HM Government made a commitment to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. The first UK Food Security Report was published in December 2021. It recognised the contribution made by British farmers to our resilience, and the importance of strong domestic production alongside trade with stable countries to our food security.

The UK’s high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources. We produce 61% of all the food we need, and 74% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year (figures which have changed little over the last 20 years). International trade supplements domestic production, and also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply.

Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across HM Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

As HM Government, we have a Manifesto commitment that we want people at home and abroad to be lining up to buy British. One of our key focuses is to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which make up 97.8% of food and drink manufacturing businesses.

HM Government hosted a Regional Food and Drink Summit in Birmingham in March 2022. The Summit successfully brought together SMEs and regional organisations to share best practice and access support to grow their business through exporting, selling direct to consumers, accessing public sector procurement opportunities and promoting their products at a regional level.

Building on the Summit we will continue to empower businesses and regional organisations to leverage growth opportunities, champion their regional food identity and develop links with local tourism through a series of regional workshops and guides.