Climate Change: Food Supply Resilience
House of Lords · Lords Chamber · 17 Sep 2026 · 21 speeches · Official Report
Question
Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications of climate-related extreme weather for the resilience of the UK’s food supply.
My Lords, the United Kingdom Food Security Report of 2024 suggests that rising temperatures will increase the likelihood of extreme weather events, which do of course represent significant risks to UK food security. So we are investing in resilience by spending £200 million up to 2030 through the Farming Innovation Programme, and £65 million to support farmers, given recent drought conditions, including an extra £50 million for sustainable farming incentive agreements for short-term and long-term resilience to our changing climate.
My Lords, the National Audit Office is concerned about our food security: 2026 is on track to be our worst harvest, and our five worst harvests have all been since 2020. A major El Niño event will make matters worse. Add in global conflict, and we have a recipe for food inflation and possible shortages. A freedom of information request reported in the Guardian found that just 20 of Defra’s 6,613 staff are working on climate adaptation. Is safeguarding our food security receiving adequate consideration?
In looking at where staff work, it is important to take into account that many staff work across different briefs in the organisation. While people may not be specifically working on something, there are implications across other parts of the department which are also involved in that work. Food security is a critical part of the work Defra does. We are looking at ways to increase resilience in the face of the increased effects of climate change.
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
My Lords, the Minister will be aware that the NFU says that there is an urgent need-
My Lords-
My Lords, it is the turn of the Conservative Benches. Can they please make up their minds and get a question asked?
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
My Lords, the Minister will be aware that the NFU has declared an urgent need for on-farm reservoirs. The Minister has stated frequently that she is in favour of on-farm reservoirs. However, there is an inconsistency in the guidance and planning for permitted development rights. Will she urgently speak to her colleagues in the housing department to ensure that the planning guidance permits on-farm reservoirs to store the water for when it is needed by farmers and horticultural growers?
As the noble Baroness says, I am extremely supportive of on-farm reservoirs. They are very important, which is why we have announced funding of up to £15 million through Defra to build on-farm reservoirs as part of the drought package. We have also offered two rounds of water management grants so far. That has provided £8.8 million of funding towards management, including for the construction of reservoirs. We are speaking to MHCLG about a number of issues where we need to improve planning and make it more reactive to requirements.
My Lords, to adapt to future climate and weather, we must develop new genetic varieties of the crops we grow. Gene editing will be a powerful tool to enable this. When I recently visited the Wellesbourne research station, I saw field trials of gene-edited soya plants that will be suitable to grow in the UK. Corteva, the company running these trials, is passionate about the fact that our legislation is more permissive and proportionate, and particularly beneficial for research and development. When negotiations to finalise the SPS agreement are reached, can we be assured that we will protect the advantages we have compared with the EU system?
Noble Lords will not be surprised to hear me say that I cannot comment on the negotiations, which are taking place ahead of the summit, but we hope to have a date finalised soon. But I can assure the noble Lord that we understand the importance of this. It has been critical to the work we have been doing to have that flexibility. We are discussing very seriously with the EU how we can protect what we are doing in this area.
I remind the House that I am a small organic farmer. The Minister must understand that in the farming community as a whole, there is a real feeling of abandonment. She can say what the Government are doing, but there is a real feeling that there is no commitment. The new Secretary of State has begun well in trying to build this up, but can she explain to the rest of the Government that farming matters and is crucial for the future, particularly when farmers have to face these terrible weather effects? In the last five years there have been the worst harvests ever, two because they were burnt out and one because it was flooded out. Can she help the rest of the Government to talk about agriculture and the countryside in a way that sounds as if they are committed?
I am very pleased that the noble Lord thinks the new Secretary of State has made a good start: I agree. It is very encouraging that the new Prime Minister has also been talking about farming, rural businesses and rural communities in a very positive way, understanding that we need to better ensure that rural communities are properly represented across government. Defra takes this very seriously, and we will continue to work with other departments to stress that point.
My Lords, it is essential for domestic food production that we have a healthy population of pollinators, yet our pollinators have declined since the 1980s by a quarter, particularly certain bee species and hoverflies. What are the Government doing about that issue as it applies to the sustainable farming incentive and biodiversity net gain? We must solve this problem for the future.
One of the things the Government are doing is working to promote more sustainable farming, because sustainable farming will turn this around and make the difference. We must support our pollinators by looking at how we farm and what we spray on our farms. That is why I am very pleased to have recently been given the pesticides brief, and I will be working to see what we can do in that space. Also, we have threats from non-native invasive species-the yellow-legged hornet is causing all sorts of problems. We are working very hard to tackle that as well, because there are threats from all sides, as the noble Lord says.
My Lords, at the moment there is little we can do to mitigate climate change and severe weather events, which this year are likely seriously to deplete our UK food production, both for arable crops and livestock. In these circumstances, does the Minister agree that the policy proposal in the Land Use Framework , published in March, to take 9%-a tenth-of our agricultural land out of food production is inconsistent with the Government’s avowed commitment to food security?
It is also important to point out that in the Land Use Framework , the Government did make a clear long-term commitment to maintain overall food production in England by increasing farm profitability and productivity, and to develop particular sector plans, which is what farming was asking for. Through those sector plans, we can better underpin our food security and drive economic growth. We have a number of things in place to support that ambition. We are going to start with horticulture and poultry on the sector plans. We have set up, as the Batters review recommended, a farming and food partnership board. We are also looking at agricultural land classification data to protect our most important agricultural land.
My Lords, I commend the Minister for persisting with questions today despite her awful throat braxy. Two weeks ago, the National Audit Office published a highly critical report on Defra’s lack of preparedness for food shortages, the failure to test the emergency plans in place, and the lack of the legal powers and specific asset tracking to maintain food supplies during a deep emergency. A key recommendation was that Defra must work more closely with farmers and food businesses to ensure that the food supply is maintained. To work more closely with farmers, will the Government call off the Treasury attacks on farmers, farming and the countryside that are driving farmers to quit in record numbers? No farmers means no food, no security and no countryside that we love.
The noble Lord mentions the National Audit Office report, which shows that risks to food supplies are becoming much more complex. That is why we are working with farmers, producers and the drinks industry to strengthen our food security. We are looking at the findings and recommendations and will be discussing them with the Treasury.