Food Security

My Lords, the UK has a secure and resilient food system, built on strong domestic production and diverse trade relationships that provide a stable supply and safe food despite recent global crises. Defra lays the UK Food Security Report in Parliament every three years, providing a comprehensive assessment of all aspects of food security. The next report will be released in 2027. In the intervening years, a shorter UK Food Security Digest is published.

I thank my noble friend for that reply, and I congratulate the Government on today’s publication of the farming road map, with its recognition that the UK’s food system is vulnerable. Food manufacturing is a vital contributor, among several others, to the UK’s food resilience. It is the biggest manufacturing sector by turnover and supports almost half a million jobs in our economy. Will the Government therefore consider treating food manufacturing as a strategically important sector, with the associated support that that would bring?

My noble friend is of course entirely correct to underline the importance of the food manufacturing sector and the fact that the Government’s new farming road map recognises it as an important part of the food supply chain. We are supporting food manufacturers with export support, innovation funding and growth programmes; we are working with industry to address barriers such as regulation and labour shortages; and we are strengthening supply chain resilience by monitoring risks and improving preparedness for shocks, and considering targeted interventions where appropriate. We are driving growth and innovation by funding research and development, including £25 million from Defra and nearly £50 million from UK Research and Innovation. Alongside this, we are working across government to improve market access for UK food and drink exports, to support healthier and more sustainable products and to provide the long-term stability that businesses need to invest. Taken together, these actions are helping to build a more productive, resilient and competitive UK food sector, supporting jobs, growth and food security.

My Lords, it was your Lordships’ House that agreed that, instead of five years, as was in the Agriculture Bill, we should consider these matters every three years. It is very important for His Majesty’s Government to keep this under review, because we are in an even more volatile situation: I ask the Minister to comment on that. It is also fair to say that I know no farmer who feels in a confident position. We should be ensuring that British food production is put at a much higher priority as a matter of national resilience, as we have seen increasing volatility across the world.

The noble Lord of course has a great deal of experience in this. On his first question around the frequency of the report, he will know that it is a huge undertaking. It takes over a year to produce and usually weighs in at well over 300 pages, covering five themes, from global availability to household access to food security. The annual digest is shorter and more focused, which, as he commented, focuses on more material factors and recent changes in food supply. When it comes to wider government support for farmers and the agricultural sector, the Government have allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over the Parliament, and the food sector is one of the UK’s 13 critical national infrastructure sectors. That tells the whole House how seriously we take it.

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the real test of this policy and the new farming road map is whether it leaves the poorest households better protected against disruption to food supply and prices? Given that the poorest fifth of households would need to spend 70% of their disposable income for the Government’s version of a healthy diet, what assessment have the Government made of the urgent need right now for the affordability of healthy food?

The noble Baroness will be aware that UK annual food price inflation in the current month, June 2026, was 2.2%, which is lower than overall inflation for the first time since January last year. Historically, of course, our food has been more affordable than the EU average. But she is right to stress the importance of affordability; that is why the Government are providing targeted support to help households manage food costs in a number of different ways. First, we have extended free school meals to 500,000 extra pupils, which will save up to £500 per child per year. The Chancellor of the Exchequer also recently announced targeted tariff cuts on over 100 everyday food items as part of the Great British Summer Savings scheme, which, it is estimated, will save more than £150 million per year.

I start by thanking the Minister for publishing the farming road map and for responding to my review on farm profitability. It was a stark fact, leading the review, that over 50% of all farms in England remain unprofitable and below the level of median household earnings. Given that, in the last Parliament, there were legislated targets put in place for the environment, is it not time that we had annual reporting on our food security and targets set to make sure we are not lowering our self-sufficiency?

I begin by thanking the noble Baroness, Lady Batters, for all her hard work on the profitability review. The Government have responded to a number of her recommendations, including ensuring that the new round of funding for the SFI opens up with a focus on active farmers, rather than just landowners. As she will know, through the Farming and Food Partnership Board, we are focusing on sector growth plans, with an initial focus on the sectors that need boosts, help and support the most, including horticulture and poultry, as well as focusing on a workforce strategy. However, I heard what she said about the targets. There is a lot of detail in the new farming road map. The Government are of course always open to listening to these ideas.

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Batters, on her report, which has been a fantastic contribution to this area. I say to the Minister that the Government should revisit the clean energy proposals to take 10% of the most productive farmland out of food production and make sure that it remains in food production for food security purposes—which is, after all, national security.

I point out to the noble Baroness that, even in the most ambitious scenarios under the Government’s solar road map, only 0.4% of total UK land and up to 0.6% of total agricultural land is expected to be occupied by solar farms. Indeed, the changes that we made to the National Planning Policy Framework strengthened the ability of food businesses to grow and improve the productive use of their land. I gently say that there is a way that we can balance both clean energy generation and a growing and profitable farming sector.

My Lords, as a former Economy Minister in Northern Ireland, I know too well the importance of the agri-food sector to Northern Ireland. It is a key economic driver. We have a population of just 1.9 million, but we provide almost £10 billion-worth of food across the UK. Given that, do His Majesty’s Government accept that Northern Ireland is a very strategic part of the food supply for the United Kingdom?

Absolutely. We celebrate and enjoy the contribution that Northern Ireland makes to the agri-food sector. It is an important part of our UK economy.

My Lords, as my noble friend the Minister knows, there were some concerns from many scientists about the precision breeding Bill. I wonder whether he might be able to give us an update on what is currently happening with regard to the modification of crops and animals in our food security.

I do not have an update to hand on the follow-up from the precision breeding Bill, so it will probably be best, in the interest of time, if I undertake to write to my noble friend with some more detail.

My Lords, I refer the House to my registered interests as a farmer and landowner. Farming in England is struggling, with globally high employment and environmental costs, while selling at prices set in international commodity markets by lower-cost regions of the world. Despite the dedication of our farmers, that threatens our food security. How will the Minister ensure that farmers are adequately rewarded for the ecosystem services they supply alongside food, beyond the low-margin ELMS payments?

The ELM scheme, which is backed by nearly £12 billion, is already delivering sustainable and profitable farming approaches. We need to work on this and develop this more. We have strong food security. We do not take anything for granted and we will continue to work across the supply chain and with partners to maintain and enhance it.