Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to
improve food security.
(Con)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on
the Order Paper and refer to my entry in the register of
interests.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs () (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register. UK
food security remains consistently high, and the Government
continue to strengthen it by supporting our farmers and food
producers. Underlining this commitment, at the NFU conference we
announced the introduction of an annual food security index,
underpinning the three-yearly UK food security report. The next
report will be out before the end of the year, with the first
draft of the index set for the second UK Farm to Fork summit this
spring.
(Con)
My Lords, will my noble friend join with me in paying tribute to
and celebrating the work of our farmers in putting food on our
plates, in particular the livestock producers on the hills, and
tenant farmers especially? Will my noble friend take this
opportunity, against the backdrop of increasing challenges to
self-sufficiency, to give farmers and consumers alike an
undertaking that any imported food and agricultural products will
meet the same high animal welfare and environmental standards as
those produced in this country?
(Con)
I thank my noble friend and entirely agree with her on the issue
of supporting our farmers and congratulating them on the work
they do. I quite accept the premise that a significant change is
going on in the agricultural sector. It was clearly signalled
when we transitioned away from the common agricultural policy and
focused farming on delivering both food production and
environmental goals through ELMS. It is entirely understandable
that farmers have concerns about this transition, as it requires
them to reappraise how they use the entirety of their land. We
are guiding and supporting farmers with new technology, new
science and improved productivity to not only produce and
maintain high quality food but to enrich our soil, reduce
pollution and help reverse biodiversity loss.
of Hardington Mandeville
(LD)
My noble Lords, the food security report identifies climate
change and biodiversity loss as the greatest threat to UK food
security. Therefore, will the Government’s upcoming Farm to Fork
summit include representatives from environmental organisations
working on climate change and biodiversity?
(Con)
I thank the noble Baroness for her question. As she will know,
the upcoming Farm to Fork summit is the second one we have held,
and the National Farmers’ Union requested that we implement this
as an annual event. I forget the exact statistics but at the last
one, over 70 representatives from the wider industry, across the
entire supply chain, were in attendance, along with food
producers from across the whole UK. The intention is to grow that
at our next summit, which is in the spring.
(Lab Co-op)
My Lords, with respect, the Minister and the noble Baroness, Lady
McIntosh, are living in a parallel universe. Did the Minister not
see 120 farmers driving their tractors up Whitehall, honking and
protesting? Were we not told that when we left the European Union
everything would be okay for farmers? What has gone wrong?
(Con)
The noble Lord raises a good point, and I was a little surprised
that I did not see him out there when I went to visit the
protesters last night. He is entirely correct; they did make a
lot of noise. The Government are supporting farmers across a
whole range of areas, be it technology, science, financial, or
productivity gain. But it needs to be understood that we are
going through a transition at the moment, in order to recalibrate
and rebalance our food production and environmental benefits in
the countryside. The Government are being crystal clear that food
production comes first and foremost in that battle.
(CB)
My Lords, further to the Question asked by the noble Baroness,
Lady McIntosh, may I press the Minister a bit further? In
negotiating free trade agreements, will His Majesty’s Government
set minimum environmental and animal welfare standards which
imported animal products must meet, equivalent to those we demand
of our own farmers, so that we do not put our farmers at a
comparative disadvantage and undermine our food security?
(Con)
The noble Lord is absolutely right about this issue. Both Defra
and the Government have been crystal clear that agriculture is at
the forefront of any trade deals we negotiate. We reserve the
right to pause negotiations with any country if progress is not
being made. We recently did this with Canada, which the president
of the NFU welcomed as a relief for farmers. All imports need to
meet our food safety requirements, and free trade agreements do
not change our protections for food safety, animal welfare and
the environment.
(Con)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that if we are serious about
food security, we should do all we can to stop large solar arrays
being put on high-quality agricultural land? Does he also agree
that the way forward is to ensure that solar panels are put on
warehouses across the country and located alongside motorways and
railways?
(Con)
My noble friend is correct. There is a presumption against
planning on grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3 land. He is entirely
right that solar energy and any other developments need to be
appropriately sited to achieve the right result.
of Ullock (Lab)
My Lords, the NFU has asked the Government to identify
opportunities to increase our market share of foods we can
produce sustainably, including a commitment to source 50% of food
into the public sector from British farms. Public procurement can
support our food producers, so what are the Government doing to
support farmers through procurement?
(Con)
I thank the noble Baroness for her question. This month the
Environment Secretary appointed as an independent adviser to
support our ongoing work to improve food procurement in the
public sector. His review will look at how we can increase the
impact and reach of the existing government buying standards for
food and catering services and promote our high standards in
places such as residential care, hospitals and schools.
(GP)
My Lords—
Noble Lords
The Bishop.
(GP)
Really?
The Lord
My Lords, I indicate my interests as listed in the register and
pay tribute to farmers. As the Minister has said, the priorities
are food production and environmental quality, including
rebuilding biodiversity, restoring clean air and water and
prioritising the rebuilding of healthy soils. What ongoing
assessment is being made of the current ELMS and SFI programmes
to meet these aims?
(Con)
I thank the right reverend Prelate for his question. Defra has a
large outreach programme with its constituent members,
particularly its farming community. We monitor a lot of this work
most of the time. Through ELMS we can assess the impact we are
having on improving the environment.
(GP)
My Lords—
(Lab)
My Lords, what assessment have the Government made, since the
introduction of the precision breeding Bill, of the risk to the
environment of releasing into it genetically modified plants?
(Con)
The noble Lord raises a serious question on a serious subject.
The Government are in the process of assessing this impact, and I
hope to write to him shortly with the answer to his question.
(GP)
My Lords—for the third time—can the Minister answer the question
from the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell: at the Farm to Fork
event, will there be people from the environmental lobby who are
well-informed about how to preserve nature?
(Con)
Perhaps we could invite the noble Baroness to attend; that might
solve the problem completely.
(LD)
My Lords, I would be most grateful if the Minister wrote to my
noble friend Lady Bakewell and answered her question. My question
is about food waste. There is far too much of it, and there is
strong support in the food industry for making reporting on food
waste mandatory. Yet, in response to a recommendation of the
House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, the Government
have decided, against all the evidence, to delay doing anything
for another four to six months. Why is that, and are the
Government content to leave it to the next Government?
(Con)
No, I am not content to leave it to the next Government. I cannot
furnish the noble Baroness with a date, but I will write to her
and, indeed, to the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, shortly.
