Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 20 Apr 2017
Oral Answers to Questions
"I thank the Minister for his response, but the fact is that the Office for National Statistics is reporting a surge in food prices that is likely to continue. Children are returning to school hungry after the Easter holidays and elderly people are being admitted to hospital malnourished, but still …..."Emma Lewell - View Speech
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Written Question
Tuesday 18th April 2017
Asked by:
Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question
to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate her Department has made of the level of household food insecurity in the UK; and pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 by the Minister of State for Health to Question 44475, when the Government expects the data provided to the Voices of the Hungry project to be published.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government annually publishes Family Food, which draws on data from the Living Cost of Food Survey. This publication includes questions on household spend on food, including that by the lowest 20% income households, which has remained constant at around 16% for a number of years.
The Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), developed by the Voices of the Hungry project of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is used to collect food security data in up to 150 countries under the Gallup World Poll. The Department for International Development supports this work financially and updated results will be published later this year by the FAO. We understand from the FAO that global FIES results will be launched in June, and the individual country level estimates, which are three-year averages, will be published in September.
Written Question
Tuesday 18th April 2017
Asked by:
Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question
to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what change her Department expects in the level of food prices in the next six months.
Answered by George Eustice
The Department has published research on the main drivers of changes to food prices which have been observed to be food commodity prices, currency exchange rates and oil prices. It will be changes to any, or a combination of these factors, that will bring changes to prices.
ONS statistics on food prices are published each month as part of the Consumer Price Index. In the most recent statistics published on 11 April, food prices had increased by 1.3% in the year to March 2017 following almost three consecutive years where food prices fell. Exchange rates and energy costs have been the key drivers of these changes.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 19 Jan 2017
Oral Answers to Questions
"1. What steps her Department is taking to measure levels of household food insecurity. ..."Emma Lewell - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 19 Jan 2017
Oral Answers to Questions
"May I congratulate you, Mr Speaker, because I believe it is your birthday? Happy birthday, Mr Speaker—I hope you have a good’un!
I thank the Minister for his response, but he knows as well as I do that that is simply not good enough. An estimated 8.4 million people in …..."Emma Lewell - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 19 Jan 2017
Oral Answers to Questions
"T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities...."Emma Lewell - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 19 Jan 2017
Oral Answers to Questions
"The consumer prices index is at the highest it has been for over two and half years, largely driven by rising food prices. Since the Government stubbornly refuse to measure and act on levels of food poverty, what will the Secretary of State do for the millions of people her …..."Emma Lewell - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 06 Dec 2016
Household Food Insecurity
"I beg to move,
That this House has considered household food insecurity measurement in the UK.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gapes. Back in 2014, I said in this House:
“People are going hungry, and, with each passing day of this terrible excuse for a …..."Emma Lewell - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 06 Dec 2016
Household Food Insecurity
"I am aware of the EFRA Committee’s inquiry, and it would be good for the Government to back the Food Waste (Reduction) Bill of my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy).
Although we have national statistics on how much households have spent on food and on individuals’ …..."Emma Lewell - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 06 Dec 2016
Household Food Insecurity
"My hon. Friend is correct: holiday hunger is a scourge on this country. In a former life, I was a child protection social worker, and families used to say to me that school time was the only time their children could be guaranteed a healthy meal. They dreaded holidays. My …..."Emma Lewell - View Speech
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