Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that the armed forces can contribute to helping ending food scarcity in developing countries.

In December 2021, Joint Service Publication (JSP) 985 on Human Security in Defence was published. JSP 985 recognised the need to consider the multiple and intersecting ways in which people face insecurity and provided guidance on how the UK Armed Forces can take account of this across all Defence activity. One of these forms of insecurity is food insecurity, which includes both physical and economic access to food that meets people's dietary needs.

The implementation of JSP 985 will ensure that the UK Armed Forces are better placed to protect people at home and overseas through a more detailed understanding of the root causes of crisis and conflict.

It is important that this is part of a coherent, cross-Government response to food security. Ministry of Defence officials regularly engage with colleagues from the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, Office for Conflict Stabilisation and Mediation and the Department for International Trade on this issue to ensure this is the case.