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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential contribution of co-operatives in agriculture to food security.

The Government strongly supports the benefits co-operatives can bring and recognises the important role they play in food security, the resilience of the food sector and as a lifeline for community access to food.

Through the food strategy, Defra is considering how to better support local and place-based initiatives to deliver the changes needed for resilience, including food and farming co-operatives and mutuals.