Asked by: Lord Cruddas (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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.
Asked by: Lord Cruddas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that food remains affordable in the UK, particularly for those who are most disadvantaged.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to monitor food prices using the ONS inflation figures. The recent increase in food price inflation is driven by higher utility prices and pressures on global supply chains that are being felt globally. Industry analyst expectations are that we are either at or approaching the food price inflation peak. They then expect food price inflation to gradually decrease over the remainder of 2023.
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. Through regular engagement, Defra will continue to work with food 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. It is not for HM Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by companies. Rising food prices are dependent on a combination of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs
The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the current exceptionally high cost of living. To protect the most vulnerable from the worst of cost-of-living pressures, the Chancellor recently announced a package of targeted support worth £26 billion, which includes continued support for rising energy bills.