Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to British farmers for the development of alternatives to dairy milk products, such as oat milk.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We will always support British farming. We are introducing schemes and policies that enable farmers to have resilient businesses, produce the food our nation needs, enhance animal health and welfare and also to protect and enhance the natural environment.
For example, the Farming Innovation Programme will support the pull-through of R&D to deliver farmer-led solutions to productivity challenges. It will also address longer term strategic challenges such as producing nutritious food more efficiently and sustainably, whilst helping the sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to achieve Net Zero goals.
Going forward, farmers will be able to pick and choose from a range of grants and ongoing payments to find a package that works for them. We will work with all farm types, regardless of size, location, ownership or the systems they use, to ensure that that they are able to access our funding and support in a way that works for them.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that there will be an adequate supply of milk to meet consumer demand in 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a dynamic and resilient dairy industry and I am confident of its ability to continue to supply high quality fresh milk and dairy products to consumers. Defra continues to closely monitor the dairy market and maintains regular engagement with key dairy industry representatives.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 ensure that people in food poverty have a healthy and balanced diet.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. We will spend over £242bn through the welfare system in 2022/23 including £108bn on people of working age. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is continuing the work begun by Public Health England to explore options to assess the cost of a healthy balanced diet in response to the House of Lords Select Committee on Food, Poverty, Health, and the Environment report 'Hungry for change: fixing the failures in food' (July 2020). Through the Healthy Food Schemes, the Government provides a nutritional safety net to those families who need it the most. The three Healthy Food Schemes (Healthy Start, the Nursery Milk Scheme and the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme) together help more than three million children. A balanced diet is rich in fruit and vegetables, beans, pulses and wholegrain starchy carbohydrates. It can also include dairy, fish and meat which are valuable sources of many nutrients important for human health. The Government encourages everyone to have a healthy balanced diet in line with the UK's healthy eating model, the Eatwell Guide. A study by Scarborough et al (2016) analysed the cost of achieving a diet in line with the Eatwell Guide and concluded that although achieving the UK dietary recommendations would require substantial changes to the current average diet, these changes would not lead to significant changes in the price of the diet. The diet in line with the Eatwell Guide cost £5.99 per adult per day, which was very similar to the cost of the current diet in the UK at £6.02 per adult per day.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the £120 million committed in the Government Food Strategy for research funding for alternative proteins has been allocated to (a) plant-based, (b) fermentation-derived and (c) cultivated meat, dairy, eggs and seafood proteins.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s Food Strategy included a commitment to keep the UK at the front of the growing and innovative alternative protein sector by supporting alternative protein research and innovation, including as part of our partnership with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to invest over £120 million in research across the food system. To date, public support in the form of R&D investment to the sector includes £12.5m part of the Defra-UKRI partnership Farming Innovation Programme (FIP), focussed on developing innovative solutions for sustainable farm-based protein production, although the FIP excludes post-farm gate protein technologies like cultured meat.
Innovate UK is currently funding three projects comprising £12.5M through the Transforming Food Production programme, focusing on alternative protein for aquaculture and animal feed applications and two projects with an overall value of £1.5M focused on lab-based meat cultivation. Additionally, UKRI’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Innovate UK are jointly planning to invest at least £20 million in capacity building, research, innovation and business-led commercialisation to help develop alternative, more sustainable protein sources between 2022-2025. Precision fermentation and cultivated meat research proposals will be within the scope of funding as part of the BBSRC Strategic Plan 2022-2025.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the growth in sales of UK dairy products abroad.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to supporting the dairy sector capitalise on the strong demand for British products across the world, drawing on our reputation for quality and high standards of production, welfare and food safety.
We are focused on enabling British dairy exporters to access as many international markets as possible. In addition to removing trade barriers through negotiation of new Free Trade Agreements we are boosting our technical expertise in key markets through expansion of our network of dedicated agri-food attachés to 10 posts across the globe. These roles resolve market access barriers, support export growth and provide market insight to enable British companies to target markets with the highest potential. There is strong export potential for dairy products and a growing international reputation, especially for cheese. Our attaches will work with dairy companies to build our market share further and generate further awareness and demand.
As well as maximising market access, the Government is working with the sector to build capability and competitiveness in international markets. The new UK-wide Food and Drink Exports Council, which will be launched early next year, brings together industry and Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to boost exports from all parts of the UK and build export capability in the sector, especially in SMEs. The Department for International Trade provide a broad range of export support to help companies begin or progress their export journey, including advice on entering particular markets and opportunities to showcase products to international buyers.
Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on consumer diets of delaying (a) the food strategy and (b) subsequent policies on encouraging (i) wholegrains, (ii) fibre and (iii) healthier substitutes.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government Food Strategy set out our plan to ensure the food system is fit for the future and supports healthy and sustainable diets and we are focused on implementing the measures in the strategy. We have committed to report on how we are taking forward our actions under the strategy alongside the next UK Food Security Report.
A balanced diet is rich in fruit and vegetables, beans, pulses and wholegrain starchy carbohydrates. It can also include dairy, fish and meat which are valuable sources of many nutrients important for human health. The Government already encourages everyone to have a healthy balanced diet in line with the UK's healthy eating model, the Eatwell Guide. The Eatwell Guide shows the proportions in which different types of foods are needed to have a well-balanced and healthy diet.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of updating the School Food Standards to remove the mandatory servings of meat, including fish, and dairy.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department believes that the current school food standards provide a robust yet flexible framework to ensure that pupils in England continue to receive high quality and nutritious food. The framework should build healthy eating habits for life.
The Department’s focus is on promoting compliance with the school food standards. The Department is keeping this under review. In February 2022, the Levelling Up White Paper outlined several measures the Department is implementing to strengthen adherence. These include piloting work with the Foods Standards Agency, investing up to £200,000 in a pilot Governor Training Scheme, and encouraging schools to complete a statement on their school websites setting out their whole school approach to food.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the National Food Strategy Report published in July 2021, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of updating the School Food Standards to remove the mandatory servings of (a) meat including fish and (b) dairy as suggested in that report.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department believes that the current standards provide a robust yet flexible framework to ensure that pupils continue to receive high quality and nutritious food that builds healthy eating habits for life.
The Department’s current focus is on promoting compliance with the School Food Standards, and it will keep this under review. In February 2022, the Levelling Up White Paper outlined what the Department is doing to strengthen adherence. This includes piloting work with the Foods Standards Agency, funding of up to £200,000 in a pilot Governor Training Scheme and encouraging schools to complete a statement on their websites setting out their whole school approach to food.
The Department will consider the National Food Strategy Report’s recommendations in future updates.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has she made of the current School Food Standards mandatory servings of meat and dairy and its impact on the (a) UK’s health goals, (b) climate science, and (c) modern dietary choices.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department wants pupils to be healthy and well nourished. The Department encourages a healthy balanced diet and healthy life choices. The standards for school food are set out in the Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014 and are to ensure that schools provide children with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure that children get the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day.
The requirement in the school food standards to serve meat and dairy products applies to all schools. The Department is aware that for some faith schools, vegetarianism is an important part of that faith. There may therefore be cases where there is no demand for meat and dairy products from any of the school’s parents or pupils, and in this scenario it would not be realistic to expect the school to produce meat or dairy based meals that will not be consumed.
The Department has committed to supporting schools to drive up their sustainable practices on food. Schools can voluntarily follow the Government buying standards if they so wish, which include advice around sustainable sourcing. The Department also recognises the importance of plant-based foods from a cultural and environmental point of view. The school food regulations already allow schools the freedom to provide plant-based meals as needed. Meat must be served on three or more days each week and beyond this, schools may provide a meal with any other type of protein every day if they choose to.
The Department’s school food standards regulate the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day. Beyond this, the Department believes that head teachers, school governors and caterers are best placed to make decisions regarding their school food policies, taking into account local circumstances and the needs of their pupils. In doing so, the Department expects schools to make reasonable adjustments for pupils with particular requirements, for example to reflect dietary and cultural needs. School food policies work best when schools discuss them with parents and pupils, so that parents have the opportunity to raise pupils’ particular dietary needs.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they plan to give to the dairy industry to develop the capture of methane from slurry and convert it into tractor fuel.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Investing in proper slurry storage is a critical step livestock farmers need to take to make best use of their organic nutrients and prevent pollution. Defra has committed to launch a new Slurry Infrastructure Grant this autumn. The grant will help livestock farmers already using a slurry system to upgrade their slurry storage, to reach six months storage capacity and to cover grant funded stores with impermeable covers.
We want to adapt the slurry grant offer over time to ensure that any public funding for better slurry management supports adoption of innovative treatments and circular use of slurry such as methane capture for energy and fuel.