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 help ensure that the land use framework will support sustainable food production on farms.

The Land Use Consultation launched this year was underpinned by analysis of land use change for nature restoration and other objectives. This included analysis of potential spatial distributions of change to 2050, taking account of land’s suitability for food production.

Alongside the formal consultation, Defra ran and participated in several different engagement events across England to ensure that farmers’ and food producers’ views were heard. The Department led six regional workshops and regional focus groups, supported five regional workshops run by external organisations, and attended several wider meetings, conferences and discussions.

When published, the Land Use Framework will set out the evidence, data and tools needed to help safeguard our most productive agricultural land.