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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to take legislative steps to ensure food self-sufficiency does not fall below its current level.

In the recently published Land Use Framework, the Government made a clear, long-term commitment to maintain overall food production in England by increasing farm productivity and profitability.

The Government will support this ambition through a range of measures, including the new Farming and Food Partnership Board, developing sector plans to underpin our future food security and drive economic growth and safeguarding the best and most versatile farmland from permanent land use change.

Defra monitors all key agricultural commodities closely. The UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group tracks UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments.

The UK Food Security Report in 2027 will assess dependence on food imports, and any permanent changes in agricultural land use will be included in future Food Security Reports.