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

To ask His Majesty's Government what they are doing to ensure food remains affordable, especially for the most disadvantaged.

We understand concerns about food price inflation, and its impact on the costs of living. That is why tackling inflation is this Government’s number one priority, with a plan to more than halve inflation this year, and we are monitoring all key agricultural commodities so that we can work with the food industry to address the challenges they face.

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the current exceptionally high cost of living. We continue to support households through our £94bn package, worth £3,300 on average per household this year and last.

The recent high levels of overall inflation have primarily been driven by higher energy prices and pressures on global supply chains and there are further signs those are beginning to ease. May 2023 CPI food price inflation was 18.3%, a decrease compared to April 2023 when it was 19%. This means that food prices are still increasing but at a slower rate than before.

Defra is taking action to maintain an efficient food supply chain by mitigating against any potential burdens or friction which could otherwise drive up consumer food prices. We continue to use regular engagement to work with retailers and producers to explore the range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food; for example, by maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing measures.