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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on (a) the recommendations on land use in the National Food Strategy and (b) the allocation of land within the planning system for food growing and farming.

(a) The Food Strategy White Paper will set out Government's ambition for the food system: to support exceptional British food and drink producers, and to protect and enhance the nation's health and the natural environment for generations to come. We are working closely with other Government Departments to consider the evidence of Henry Dimbleby's independent review, which has made a significant contribution to our work on land use change and land management.

We are working closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and the Secretaries of State have regular discussions about a range of issues including land use, planning and food production. Given ongoing wider circumstances we are postponing publication of the Food Strategy until after the pre-election period for the local elections.

b) The Government recognises the importance of food production and has set out a legal obligation to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years, set out in December 2021's first UK Food Security Report. It recognised the contribution made by British farmers to our resilience, and the importance of strong domestic production to our food security. This report will serve as an evidence base for future policy work.

In many parts of England, using land for food and agriculture will not specifically require planning permission. However, our National Planning Policy Framework is clear that food production and farming should be recognised to ensure that sustainable development is achieved, including requiring local authorities to reference the benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land. The Framework is also clear that local authorities should encourage efficient use of land and acknowledges the importance of undeveloped land for food production.