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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to prevent supermarkets from cancelling orders from vertical farms at short notice.

The Government is committed to tackling unfairness in the supply chain wherever it exists. Using the 'Fair Dealings' powers in the Agriculture Act 2020, we can introduce regulations to increase transparency and protect growers, across the range of horticultural production systems, from unfair commercial practices.

We are currently developing ‘Fair Dealing’ regulations for the fresh produce sector, which will cover growers that sell directly to retail. These regulations are designed to strengthen supply chain fairness and ensure all horticulture producers have clear and balanced contracts, which may include prohibiting practices such as cancelling orders at short notice.

As part of this work, we are engaging with retailers, producers, experts and other representatives of the horticulture sector to ensure the regulations are workable and effective.