Asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer To ask Her
Majesty’s Government how they expect Brexit will affect United
Kingdom food prices over the next five years. The Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs (Lord Gardiner of Kimble) (Con) My Lords, food
prices are dependent on a number of...Request free trial
Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they expect Brexit will
affect United Kingdom food prices over the next five years.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Gardiner of
Kimble) (Con)
My Lords, food prices are dependent on a number of factors.
Commodity prices, exchange rates and oil prices are key
drivers of UK retail food price changes. We are negotiating
a unique, ambitious economic partnership with the EU, as
well as future trade deals with the rest of the world. Any
agreements we enter into will need to be right for
consumers and industry.
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(LD)
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply. He will be
aware that food price inflation hit 4.1% today, which gives
credence to predictions of the kind made by the British
Retail Consortium that a no-deal Brexit would be followed
by rises of up to 33%. I think that the whole House would
agree that it is always the poorest households that are
hardest hit, so will the Government prioritise food in
trade negotiations and make sure that both affordability
and quality come to the top of that deal, and that we are
not faced just with cheap food such as chlorine-washed
chicken, because both quality and affordability will impact
on the national diet?
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My Lords, although inflation has stayed unchanged at 3%,
the noble Baroness is right that the annual rate of food
price inflation is 4.1% as of today. That is on the basis
that fuel prices rose by nearly 40% last year. The noble
Baroness is right to raise trade deals. We are absolutely
clear that trade deals will need to reflect our food
safety, environmental protection and animal welfare
standards. They need to be right for consumers and
industry, too.
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(Con)
My Lords, is it right that the best estimate within my
noble friend’s department is that, after Brexit, food
prices for the consumer will rise as a result of changes in
the exchange rate—and, furthermore, that the income of the
farming industry will fall due to an overall reduction in
subsidies?
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My Lords, it is clear that food prices have throughout
history had a lot to do with the exchange rate, so my noble
friend is right that exchange rates are a component of food
prices. We believe that there is a vibrant future for
agriculture. Having been at Harper Adams last week to see
its work in agritech science and heard Professor Blackmore
talk about robotic arrangements for agriculture, I think
that there is a very strong future for agriculture. All the
students whom I met were very enthusiastic about the future
of our agricultural sector.
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(Lab)
My Lords, as the noble Baroness said, low-income households
will be the hardest hit by rising food prices—they already
are, because they spend more of their budget on food than
other people. At the same time, their benefits are steadily
losing their value. Will the Government show through their
actions and not just their words that they care about what
is happening to the poorest people in our society by ending
the benefits freeze as a matter of urgency?
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Clearly, the Government are very conscious of the need to
ensure that there is a safety net for vulnerable parts of
the community; it is why we have the triple lock for
pensions and why we spend more than £50 billion a year on
benefits to support disabled people. Indeed, with the
getting of many more people into employment, the number of
workless households with children has decreased enormously.
In many ways the matters the noble Baroness raises are
matters for the Chancellor—but, as I say, we are very
strongly of the view that all we are doing is providing a
safety net and encouraging employment.
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(Con)
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that the EU external
tariff punishes producers in poor countries and consumers
here in wealthier countries and that cancelling it on
Brexit on products such as oranges, coffee and rice that we
do not grow here would cut the cost of living for British
people dramatically?
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My Lords, as I say, we want a unique and very special
relationship with our EU friends and the continent of
Europe, but the United Kingdom has always sourced food from
a variety of sources and there is a high degree of
diversity of foodstuffs—so we are looking to work with our
European partners and also to seek deals across the globe.
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(LD)
My Lords, I declare an interest as the owner of two hill
farms: I understand the economics of hill farming. The
Minister said that he was confident in British agriculture
but, without subsidies, hill farming, which is already almost
uneconomic, will become disastrous. Can the Minister say
whether the subsidies, including the environmental subsidies
through entry-level and high-level stewardships, will be
confirmed to the end of this Parliament? Sorry—I had better
say “by 2022”.
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My Lords, the Secretary of State and the Minister have made
very clear that the continuing support—I think that the word
is “support” rather than “subsidies” for agriculture—will
continue until the end of this Parliament in 2022. It is
important that we look to new arrangements countenancing
public benefits, which I believe agriculture and management
of the land undoubtedly do. Obviously we are considering
agri-environmental schemes, which I think will be of
considerable benefit to agriculture, farmers and the
environment.
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(Con)
My Lords—
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(Lab)
My Lords—
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(Con)
My Lords, it is Labour’s turn.
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My Lords, will the Minister accept that his words stating
that the Government are aware of the impact of rising food
prices on the poorest people in the country have a hollow
ring? To be aware of the problem and pursue policies that
worsen the situation is a very evil act. Many of these
families are suffering enormously because of the Government’s
policies. Will the Minister take back the message that nobody
wants to see this deprivation continue and that all benefits
should be increased to account for the increase in the cost
of food?
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My Lords, I hope that the noble Baroness will accept that the
Government have done a number of things, including
introducing a new mandatory national living wage which has
meant a £600 a year increase in earnings for a full-time
worker on the previous national minimum wage. According to
the ONS, the lowest-paid workers are seeing their pay go up
most—by more than 6% last year. We obviously need a safety
net and we have a safety net. As I say, the amounts the
Government are spending on disability, incapacity, the
unemployed and mental health are very considerable indeed. In
fact, as a share of GDP the UK’s public spending on
disability and incapacity is higher than that of any G7
country except Germany.
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