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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent trends in the level of inflation for food and drink on food security.

UK consumer food prices depend on a range of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates. Changes in food prices are dependent on changes in one or more of these factors.

The latest available data (up to 2023) show that food prices in the UK remained lower than in most advanced economies and the lowest among G7 countries (OECD).

After the USA, UK households spend the lowest share of their expenditure on food and non-alcoholic drinks in the G7 (OECD).

In FYE 2024, households spent 11.3% of their spend on food, rising to 14.3% for the lowest 20% by income. Over the last 10 years these figures have been relatively stable, barring the impact of coronavirus in 2020-22.

We have taken the decisions needed to stabilise the public finances, but we know there’s more to do to ease the cost of living – which working people face the brunt of.

That’s why we’ve raised the minimum wage, extended the £3 bus fare cap, expanded free school meals to over half a million more children, and are rolling out free breakfast clubs for every child in the country.

The Government has also extended Free School Meals to over half a million more children. That policy alone will lift 100,000 children out of poverty.

And our commitment to the Triple Lock means that 12 million pensioners will receive an increase of up to £470 a year – worth £1,900 over the Parliament.

Through our Plan for Change we’re going further and faster to put more money in people's pockets.