Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of the 18 January to Question 122811, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of treating food banks usage as an indicator for food insecurity.

Government does not collect the data which would be necessary for such an indicator. However, the Living Costs and Food Survey is longstanding and is the best indicator of food affordability and trends in consumer behaviour.