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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on reducing inflation of food and drink.

Over the past year, Defra Ministers have regularly engaged with HM Treasury Ministers on cost-of-living pressures, including the inflationary impacts on food and drink.

The Child Poverty Taskforce provides a helpful cross-Whitehall forum for ministers across departments, including HM Treasury, to discuss and align measures to reduce household costs and improve access to affordable essentials. In parallel, Defra’s food strategy is developing policies to ensure that individuals across the country have access to affordable, nutritious food.

As a Government, we have taken the decisions needed to stabilise the public finances, but we recognise there is more to do to ease cost-of-living, which continues to place pressure on working households.

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.

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.