Food Prices
(North Devon) (Con)
3. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to mitigate
increases in food prices. (901042)
(Berwickshire, Roxburgh and
Selkirk) (Con)
10. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to mitigate
increases in food prices. (901052)
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster ()
My Department has been working closely with the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to assess the impact on food
prices as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and other
pressures.
Given the huge increase in costs that farmers are enduring, what
is being done to balance the need to mitigate food price
increases with ensuring that farmers are paid fairly for their
products?
My hon. Friend is right to identify an extremely challenging part
of the global cost of living crisis that we are trying to
confront. Critical in that is the role of farming and the
production of food domestically. One key area where we are able
to assist and where lots of work is going on is the provision of
fertiliser. She is a rural MP, as am I, so she will know that
fertiliser is a key driver of overall food prices. I am pleased
to say that for some weeks, DEFRA has been running a fertiliser
taskforce, which is doing valuable work to stabilise the market
and help farmers to optimise their use of artificial
fertiliser.
I visited a farm in my constituency in the Scottish Borders last
week, alongside the National Farmers Union of Scotland. The cost
of feed, fertiliser and many other essential products has
skyrocketed, and that is clearly pushing up food prices. What
more can the Government do to help our farmers and support this
important industry?
My hon. Friend raises a very good point, although sadly the
provision of food is devolved north of the border. We are working
very closely with the Scottish Government to make sure that they
put in place adequate provision to assist farmers. Here in
England, for example, we have introduced the basic payment to
help with cash flow. That has been welcomed by the industry, but
the key driver of the fertiliser price will dog us for some time.
If prices are too high, farmers will use less fertiliser. If they
use less fertiliser, there will be lower yields and smaller
animals, which means higher prices. Getting that combination
right is critical, as is encouraging and supporting farmers
through direct subsidy to return to the old-fashioned fertiliser
use of animal slurry. We are helping them with their storage
capacity and capability, so that they can optimise their yields
from the crops that they sow.
(Glasgow Central)
(SNP)
One of the most worrying increases in food prices is for infant
formula, some of which is now so expensive that it is
security-tagged or kept behind the till, because families have
resorted to stealing it. What are the Government doing to make
sure that infant formula is available to families who need it? At
this price, many cannot afford it at all?
We are monitoring all prices very closely, particularly for vital
products such as formula. I know that the hon. Lady will welcome
the support that is going to 8 million households on means-tested
benefits, starting from today and with another instalment coming
in the autumn, on top of the assistance that has already been
given. We have now put something like £37 billion into the system
to assist families, but we constantly keep these things under
review and will act if needed.
(Rhondda) (Lab)
Fresh fruit and vegetables are very important to everybody’s
diet. We would like more people, especially people from poorer
households, to be able to afford more. One of the problems is
that we do not have enough people in the UK now to pick the
British crop of fresh fruit and vegetables. How will we ensure
that that happens?
Can we also ensure that fresh fruit and vegetables from overseas
can get to supermarkets faster? I do not know what the Chancellor
of the Duchy of Lancaster’s experience is when he buys peppers,
courgettes, onions or potatoes, but my experience these days is
that they have all gone off by the time I get home.
Mr Speaker
Come to Chorley market; they are nice and fresh.
It’s a bit of a long way from the Rhondda.
The hon. Gentleman raises an important point about access to
ambient and fresh food for all of us. I know that the Home
Secretary is in constant discussion with colleagues in the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the
industry about the provision and balance of labour that we
encourage to come to the country to help us with summer
harvesting, for example. We also need to work hard to ensure that
the bulk of our imported fresh food gets here quickly and can
enter the supply chain extremely quickly. My right hon. and
learned Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and I will
work closely over the summer to ensure that our short, straight
supply lines are maintained as efficiently as possible.
I have a small domestic tip for the hon. Gentleman that I learned
from a friend who works in the industry. It is extremely
important that the chill chain is maintained. If he can get
chilled food as quickly as possible into his fridge, it will last
a lot longer than if he leaves it hanging around and then chills
it again. That is particularly true of dairy products.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(East Renfrewshire)
(SNP)
Aberdeen Financial Fairness Trust and Bristol University have
tracked the fortunes of UK households since the beginning of the
pandemic. They report that one in six UK households is suffering
serious financial difficulties, and the situation is getting
worse. Many households have reduced the quality of the food they
eat, sold possessions or cancelled insurance to help them to
cope. Single parents, disabled people and larger families are
among the worst affected. What steps does the Chancellor of the
Duchy of Lancaster intend to take to tackle the price rises that
are driving this inequality and poverty?
I am sure that the hon. Lady recognises that we are part of an
international global food supply chain and are subject to a
global fuel and energy market that is broadly driving up prices
for pretty much every developed nation, and indeed across the
whole of the globe. She is right, though, that we need to seek to
assist those who are struggling most in this challenging time. I
was very pleased to see it announced in the media that the first
of the cost of living payments will go to 8 million households
across the country this month, with a further payment of £320-odd
later in the year, on top of the £300 extra to pensioners, the
£150 extra to those who have disabilities and, of course, the
£400 discount on energy bills later this year. We are putting an
enormous amount of money—£37,000,000,000—into the system to
assist with what is undoubtedly a very challenging period for
families up and down the land.
I hear what the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster says, but I
am afraid that in terms of people’s real experience in their
day-to-day life, it is not enough. It is not good enough.
Families across the UK know that the Tory Government here are not
doing enough with the powers that they have. Scotland has the
lowest child poverty in the UK, and that has been achieved by
policies such as the Scottish child payment that help households
where it is needed the most. Here, we have Tory leadership
candidates promising major tax cuts, which clearly indicates that
they believe that there is financial headroom.
Does the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster agree that the
priority should be the people who are being hit hardest by the
cost of living crisis, rather than tax cuts for the wealthy and
for corporations? What assessment has he made of the benefits of
policies such as the child payment, which could make a real
difference to households in need?
I have learned over my years in government, national and local,
that one of the key factors that we should have in mind is
balance. While the hon. Lady is right that we should always have
in mind the ability to assist those who are struggling most in
our society, we have to balance that against the health of the
economy and our ongoing ability to provide exactly that
assistance. North of the border, as far as I can see, the
Scottish Government concentrate on one and neglect the other. I
am sure that there are many people who drive the wealth creation
effort in Scotland who rue the day that the SNP Government took
office, because Scotland has undoubtedly performed worse
economically than other parts of the United Kingdom over the past
10 years.
