Written question asked by Ian Gibson (Labour) on Tuesday, 12 May 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 14 May 2009. It was answered by Jane Kennedy (Labour) on Thursday, 21 May 2009 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Food Supply

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what recent discussions he has had on the inclusion of proposals to address hunger and food scarcity in his Department's forthcoming White Paper on food security;

Answer: DEFRA has responsibility within Government for leading the development and delivery of policy on food production and supply across the UK, and works closely with DFID which leads on delivery of global food security. DFID is currently preparing a white paper on International Development—"Building our common future", and the Secretary of State has recently written to Douglas Alexander highlighting the importance of ensuring that food security and sustainable natural resource management are covered in it. DEFRA will also be producing an assessment of the UK's food security later this year and this will include some assessment of food security at the household level.

Secondary information