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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) support domestic food production and (b) reduce reliance on imports.

To ensure a consistent supply of food, the UK relies upon a combination of strong domestic production from the UK’s agricultural and food manufacturing sectors, and a diverse range of overseas supply sources. Trade supports UK food supply resilience. This is due to the UK having diverse trade routes, strong international supply and purchasing power.

At home, the Government’s recently published Food Strategy identifies priority outcomes for resilient domestic production for a secure supply of healthier food, and also to create conditions for the food sector to thrive and grow sustainably, including investment in innovation and productivity, and fairer more transparent supply chains. We have allocated £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament.