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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Food Research Collaboration, Feeding Britain: food security after Brexit, published on 23 July; and how they intend to respond to each of its 15 recommendations.

The Government has noted this report. The Government regularly assesses the UK’s food security through its own channels, including through the UK Food Assessment.

The UK Food Assessment is a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of food security. It draws on a wide range of indicators which are updated with varying frequency and which we monitor on an ongoing basis. We have commenced a review of the overall assessment which will be published in 2019.

The UK has a high degree of food security with access to a diverse range of sources of supply, including domestic production. This will continue to be the case after we leave the EU. Food supply is highly resilient with diversity and flexibility throughout the supply chains, and industry can respond quickly to ensure ongoing supply.

Leaving the EU provides us with a major opportunity to set up new frameworks for supporting our farmers to grow more, sell more and export more great British food. We will work with all those who have an interest in the future of food and farming as we develop a new approach that works for our industry.