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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help tackle rising food costs.

UK consumer food prices depend on a range of factors, including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates.

On 19 November, the Secretary of State announced Defra is working alongside DBT and across Government to introduce a Food Inflation Gateway. This will assess new regulations for their impact on food businesses and food prices. It will help Government coordinate across departments and sequence regulations sensibly, providing clarity that unlocks investment to deliver productivity gains, keep costs down and put a downward pressure on food prices.

Alongside this, Defra’s food strategy is developing policies to ensure that individuals across the country have access to affordable, nutritious food. The strategy supports a whole-of-society approach to managing sudden, short-lived supply chain shocks and disruptions, as well as long-term chronic risks, so that we are ready for future shocks and reduce the risk of food price spikes.