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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential requirement for a fair and controlled food distribution system in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

The Government is preparing for all eventualities including leaving the European Union without a deal. Extensive work to prepare for a ‘no deal’ scenario has been under way for the last two years to ensure the country continues to operate as smoothly as possible from the day we leave.

The UK has a high degree of food security, built on access to a range of sources including strong domestic production and imports from other countries. This will continue to be the case whether we leave the European Union with or without a deal. The Government has well established ways of working with the food industry on food supply chain issues, and food distribution, and we are using these to support preparations for leaving the EU. This includes working with Defra’s long established Food Chain Emergency Liaison Group (FCELG), which allows Government and industry to work together to plan for and respond to any food supply disruption. This industry group’s membership is drawn from across the agri-food chain sector and includes other relevant government departments, Devolved Administrations and agencies.

Defra will continue to work closely with food industry stakeholders to understand the impacts of a no deal scenario on the food and drink industry, as well as the contingency planning measures being taken by industry.