Healthier food targets and reporting is intended to improve the healthiness of food sales. We will consult soon on the design of the measures, a key aspect of which is to allow businesses flexibility to improve the healthiness of their sales in ways that best reflect their product portfolio and business model. For example, changing store layout, price points, or the reformulation of products. The consultation will also invite views on the size of the business in scope.

The Government has not assessed the adequacy of competition in the grocery market in communities with limited access to large supermarkets. Responsibility for such assessments falls to the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK’s principal competition authority. The CMA has published several reports on competition and pricing in the groceries market.

Fairness within the agricultural supply chain is a key priority for the Government and is also important to our food security; one of Defra’s core priorities. We are using powers in the Agriculture Act to introduce ‘Fair Dealings’ Regulations, applying to businesses when purchasing agricultural products from farmers. These regulations could mandate that contracts include certain information, such as payment terms, and set parameters around these details.

Fairness within the agricultural supply chain is a key priority for the Government.

The Government will use powers in the Agriculture Act to introduce ‘Fair Dealings’ Regulations, applying to businesses when purchasing agricultural products from farmers.

A sector-by-sector approach has been adopted. The first use of the powers led to the Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations (2024) for the dairy sector. The second led to ‘Fair Dealing’ regulations for the pig sector.

The regulations are enforced by the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator, who can investigate relevant complaints from farmers.

Retail plays a vital role in communities such as North East Hampshire, supporting local jobs, access to essential goods and vibrant high streets, and we recognise the importance of sustaining this provision. Local retail provision is ultimately determined by commercial decisions of individual companies. However, through the Retail Sector Council and wider high street support, we are helping retailers adapt and continue serving communities, including areas affected by store closures.

We are delivering permanently lower business rates multipliers for over 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties, backed by a £4.3 billion support package over three years, including transitional relief to protect businesses from large bill increases following revaluation. Later this year we will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy, to help reinvigorate our communities.

The Government engages regularly with food producers and retailers through established forums to discuss issues affecting food supply, affordability and consumer choice. While pricing decisions remain a commercial matter for individual businesses, we will continue to work closely with industry to support improved choice and accessibility for consumers, including those requiring gluten-free products.

The Getting Britain Working: Labour Market Insights Publication contains an estimate of the proportion of people on Universal Credit who work in Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles sector, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/get-britain-working-labour-market-insights-october-2025.

The figures broken down by people employed by supermarkets are not readily available and to provide this would incur disproportionate cost.

The Government recognises the importance of visible neighbourhood policing in deterring crime including shoplifting. That is why we are strengthening neighbourhood policing so officers can focus on local priorities including retail crime.

We will deliver 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament. By February 2026 we had delivered more than 3,100 additional police officers and PCSOs into neighbourhood roles. The first-year growth target was first exceeded in January 2026, two months ahead of schedule.

We are also giving the police the powers they need and have strengthened the law through the Crime and Policing Act, introducing a new offence of assaulting a retail worker and removing the £200 threshold for shop theft.

We are providing £7 million over a three-year period covering 2025 to 2028, to support the police tackle retail crime, including continuing to fund a specialist policing team – in partnership with the retail sector - to better understand the tactics used by organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.

I Chair the Retail Crime Forum which brings together the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration, share best practice and to work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime. This includes the implementation of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft.

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.

The Government has already taken action to help reduce the cost of living by announcing that it is suspending tariffs on food to bring down prices for consumers. An initial list was published on 20 May for implementation on 21 June. A call for input opened on 27 May and is due to close on 24 June, to get views from businesses and other stakeholders on a second package of tariff suspensions.

Consumer price inflation (CPI) for food and non-alcoholic beverages fell from 3.7% in March to 3% in April.

The Government's Statutory Review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) 2022-2025 was published on 14 April 2026. The role of GCA is to regulate the relationship between the largest grocery retailers and their direct suppliers by enforcing compliance with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.

On 7 April 2026 the Government announced that responsibility for the GCA would move from the Department for Business and Trade to the Department for Food and Rural Affairs from 01 July 2026. This will reinforce fairness across the UK's grocery supply chain, streamline oversight of the supply chain and strengthen links to the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA).

The Chancellor of the Exchequer regularly meets with a wide range of stakeholders and industry representatives, including retailers and farming trade bodies to gather information on the effects of the Middle East conflict on the industry and to discuss how we can keep our food sector resilient and stable.

The Government has announced that it is suspending tariffs on food to bring down prices for consumers. An initial list was published on 20 May for implementation on 21 June, and a call for input opened on 27 May and is due to close on 24 June, to get views from businesses and other stakeholders on a second package of tariff suspensions.

The list of products for which tariff suspensions are proposed takes account of domestic production and food security and does not include any significant UK primary agriculture production.

To support farmers, who currently face substantially increased costs on fertiliser and fuel, the Government will cut the duty rate on red diesel by over a third to 6.48p per litre, the lowest rate in over 20 years. This lower rate will take effect from 15 June and remain in place until the end of the year. We have also proposed suspending tariffs on fertilisers subject to discussion with industry.

The list of products in the first package of agri-food tariff suspensions was published on 20^th May. This can be found on the Gov.uk page for duty suspensions and autonomous tariff quotas.

The proposed list for the second package of agri-food tariff suspensions was published on 27^th May as part of the call for input. We are now engaging with businesses and other stakeholders on the products in this list.

As part of wider efforts to reduce pressure on prices, the Government is launching a business engagement exercise on suspending tariffs on over 100 types of products including biscuits, chocolate and dried fruit and nuts.  The proposal takes account of domestic production and food security and does not include any significant UK primary agriculture production.