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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to tackle late payments to farmers from supermarkets.

Fairness within the agricultural supply chain is a key priority for the Government and is also important to our food security; one of Defra’s core priorities. We are using powers in the Agriculture Act to introduce ‘Fair Dealings’ Regulations, applying to businesses when purchasing agricultural products from farmers. These regulations could mandate that contracts include certain information, such as payment terms, and set parameters around these details.