Feeding Britain: A Food Security Emergency

Chair: James Gurling OBE; Aide: Dr Chris Adams (Vice Chair, FCC); Hall Aide: Chloe Hutchinson

Submitted by: 12 members 
Mover: Sarah Dyke MP (Spokesperson for Rural Affairs) 
Summation: Alistair Carmichael MP (Chair, DEFRA Select Committee)

Conference notes that:

1. In the past decade, the UK has experienced the highest food price inflation in 40 years.
2. The proportion of food-secure households has fallen from 92 per cent in 2020 to 90 per cent in 2023, meaning that hundreds of thousands of families can no longer reliably put food on the table.
3. The UK sources food from domestic production and trade at a roughly 60:40 ratio, leaving it dangerously exposed to global shocks.
4. Extreme weather events continue to have a significant effect on domestic production, hitting arable crops, fruit and vegetables hardest.
5. Conflict in the Middle East has driven up oil, gas and fertiliser costs, with those increases rippling through the entire supply chain until they land on the weekly shop.
6. The Food and Drink Federation expects food inflation to reach at least 9 per cent by the end of the year.
7. No income group meets dietary recommendations, with the poorest 10 per cent eating on average 42 per cent less fruit and vegetables than recommended, compared to the richest, who eat 13 per cent less.
8. Disruptions to the food supply chain can arise from a range of risks such as extreme weather evvents, cyber attacks, global conflicts or pandemics.

Conference further notes that:

1. In England, the agricultural budget was frozen at £2.4 billion between 2019 and 2024, while farm input costs rose by 44 per cent over the same period.
2. Straw costs more than doubled, while the costs of electricity, fertiliser, animal feed and motor fuels all rose between 38 per cent and 50 per cent, and interest rates on loans and overdrafts increased by 600 per cent.
3. Under the Conservatives, farm payments fell by 20 per cent in real terms since 2015, equivalent to the loss of £722 million in public funding for farmers, and the government consistently underspent even its frozen budget.
4. Labour has now cut the farming budget in England by a further £100 million a year.
5. 90 per cent of the population want to see more food produced in the UK.

Conference believes that:

1. In an unstable world, Britain must become far more selfsufficient, especially when it comes to food.
2. The failure of both Conservative and Labour governments has been to create a false equivalence between nature and farming, as if we must choose between them.
3. It is outrageous that England is the only country in Europe whose farm payments scheme does not explicitly support food security.
4. UK production of some of the most nourishing foods, such as beans, fruits and vegetables, is stalling because it no longer offers a viable livelihood for farmers.
5. Liberal Democrats believe that caring for nature and producing food go hand in hand, and that a properly funded farming sector is essential to both.
6. Long-term food security requires farming practices that actively improve soil quality and enhance the natural environment.
7. Farmers and land managers are the stewards of the countryside, and if they are not properly supported there will be no one to restore the natural environment and halt declining biodiversity.
8. The quality of locally produced food is higher and it is more nutritious; it also provides investment in the community.

Conference calls for:

1. A Good Food Bill for England to be introduced by the Government, setting binding targets on food security to support sustainable domestic food production in harmony with the environment.
2. A £1 billion increase in the farming budget to support farmers.
3. The UK Government to agree with the devolved administrations a UK-wide food-security target requiring the UK to produce at least 75 per cent of its own food by 2035, with targets around locally produced food.
4. A new seasonal agricultural workers scheme with guaranteed minimum standards to ensure that harvests are not lost to labour shortages, decided on an annual basis.
5. A public procurement requirement for schools, hospitals and government canteens in England to source a minimum percentage of food from the UK.
6. A ban on the practice of shrinkflation, requiring clear labelling when product sizes are reduced without a proportional price reduction.
7. Enhanced payments for Environmental Land Management Schemes to support nature-friendly farming and protect long-term food security.
8. Support for farms to protect the environment by permanently reopening applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive and pledging not to close it again.
9. A statutory requirement for the government to publish an annual food security audit, with accountability to Parliament.
10. Implementation of Local Food Plans where local authorities in England assess food accessibility within their areas, integrating supply chains and economic growth strategies to address whether all citizens can access nutritious meals.

Applicability: England except for 3., 4., 6., and 9. which are Federal.

Mover: 7 minutes; summation of motion and movers and summation of any amendments: 4 minutes; all other speakers: 3 minutes. For eligibility and procedure for speaking in this debate, see page 10 of the agenda. You can submit a speaker's card online here or in person.

The deadline for amendments to this motion is 13.00 Monday 7 September; see pages 11-12 of the agenda for more information.

Those selected for debate will be printed in Conference Extra and Tuesday’s Conference Daily. The deadline for requests for separate votes is 09.00 Monday 21 September; see page 9 of the agenda for more information.