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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their most recent assessment of the availability of food to meet demand over the Christmas season; and what discussions they have held with major supermarkets in relation to (1) current food availability, (2) any prior expectations of food shortages and how these have been revised.

The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response, and it is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes.

Defra has well established ways of working with industry, including major retailers, and across Government. These include regular meetings with industry and their representative bodies, and the department will continue to use these channels of communication to monitor and respond to any risks that may arise. As things stand, we do not expect substantive availability of food issues in the run up to Christmas.