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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to allocate additional funding to food producers to ensure a regular food supply during winter 2020-21.

The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain. Our food security depends on supply from diverse sources, from strong domestic production as well as imports from stable and diverse sources. This ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK’s overall security of supply.

Our thorough preparations for leaving the EU in 2019, alongside the lessons we have learned from the range of interventions deployed during the Covid-19 response provide a robust foundation for planning on food supply this winter.

We are currently working alongside industry and across Government including with the Devolved Administrations to review our plans for the end of this year. These will incorporate the potential concurrence of further peaks of Covid-19, supply chain risks at the end of the transition period and other potential risks such as severe weather and seasonal flu.

Through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), Defra and the Devolved Administrations we continue to monitor the market situation across various agricultural commodities. The group will enable us to remain agile and to identify, and respond as required, to any unforeseen impacts on food producers.

The Government appreciates that parts of the food and farming sectors are currently facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Farmers and food processors are, where eligible, able to apply for public support through the various Covid-19 related Government schemes including Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS). On 24 September, the Government announced an extension to its access to finance schemes to 30 November 2020 for new applicants and introduced ‘Pay as you Grow’ options for BBLS borrowers, who will be offered more time and greater flexibility for their repayments.