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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure food is affordable in winter 2023-24.

October 2023 Consumer Price Index (CPI) food price inflation reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) was 10.1%, down from 12.1% in September 2023 and the lowest figure since June 2022.

Overall CPI inflation dropped to 4.6% in October from 6.7% in September 2023. This is now under half the overall rate recorded by ONS at the start of the year.

Through regular engagement, Defra will continue to work with food retailers and producers to explore the range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food, for example, by maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing measures.

Retailers have introduced incentives for customers, such as new reward cards offering discounts on products or 'cashback' on future purchases. A number of stores are also offering meal deals either in store or within their cafes to help vulnerable groups.

The Government is providing significant support over this year and next – worth on average £3,300 per household – which includes direct cash payments to the most vulnerable households, as well as uprating benefits and the state pension by 10% in April.