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

To ask His Majesty's Government what current action they are taking to work with (1) major supermarket chains, and (2) fruit and vegetable farmers, to protect the future of British food and farming for the long term, and to ensure that farmers have job security and stability.

The Government values our food and farming system, and we are delivering a range of measures to back our hardworking farmers and growers to support a resilient, innovative and more sustainable system. A thriving horticultural sector is a crucial part of our food system, as well as an important part of our wider economy, and we are committed to supporting it.

My department meets regularly with food retailers to discuss a range of issues, including the future of British food and farming. The Prime Minister held the UK Farm to Fork Summit at 10 Downing Street on 16 May, which focussed on how Government and industry can work together across a number of issues affecting the sector.

We want all farmers and growers to receive a fair price for their products and the Government is committed to tackling contractual unfairness that can exist in the agri-food supply chain. At the Farm to Fork Summit we announced a review of the horticulture supply chain to help ensure farmers are paid a fair price for their produce. In December, we will launch a public consultation exploring these issues. We will analyse the responses and provide a formal response that provides a summary of the findings and sets out next steps. This review seeks to understand issues relating to fairness in the supply chain across the whole of the UK. If responses indicate there are contractual issues that we believe we should seek to address, the powers in the Agriculture Act apply to the whole of the UK.

Our regular discussions with industry representatives help inform future policy development and help us understand what support the sector needs to help it thrive.