My Lords, I will also speak to Amendment 70. I thank the noble Baronesses, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb and Lady Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville, and the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, for their support for Amendment 35. I also thank the two noble Baronesses, as well as my noble friend Lord Caithness, for their support of Amendment 70.
Amendment 35 seeks to add a further subsection to Clause 1(1) to ensure that
“protecting or improving the food security of citizens and access to food that promotes good health and wellbeing”
will qualify for financial assistance. The purpose of the amendment is to put public interest in food security front and centre in the Bill. While I accept that other parts of the Bill provide a requirement on the Government to report on food security and to have regard to food production in the use of their powers under Clause 1 on financial assistance, there is nothing in the Bill that specifically addresses the need to focus attention on matters relating to food security.
This is an issue of great importance to all citizens. At a time when we have seen our food system come under huge pressure as a result of the impact of Covid-19 and the government response to its spread, it is remarkable that the Government do not see the need for greater focus on this most important concern of the British public. It is not simply about driving self-sufficiency, which has fallen to about 60%; it is also about the fact that production of food from our own resources is an important part of food security. Indeed, the Government’s own food policy tsar, Henry Dimbleby, has highlighted the need for greater attention to be given to this important policy area. It is a matter of regret that we have not, and will not, have sight of his much-anticipated report at the time that the Bill is adopted in this place. With more than 1 million people having signed a petition seeking greater support for food standards, we in this place must be in step with the British people, ensuring that we share their concerns on what is given proper pre-eminence in the important legislation before the Committee today.
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The implications of Covid-19 have been severe, and I pay tribute once again to our farmers and food producers for ensuring food production and a constant food supply. I call on the Government to consider how we can facilitate a more resilient, robust and flexible food system and put it into our agricultural policy in the future. Specific financial assistance might be required to achieve that through the way in which primary food producers are supported. Although the Minister might argue, in summing up this little debate, that this does not fit in with the general ethos of public payment for public good, and that food is an item subject to trade and a marketplace—therefore arguably commercial —issues around food security can be considered within the ambit of public goods, particularly as it contributes to the health and well-being of the nation’s citizens.
Food security is rightly something that the Government should address in any agricultural policy and any enabling Bill, such as the one before us today. There are at least three levels of food security. The first is household security, ensuring a regular and safe supply of good-quality food. That was clearly disrupted during the lockdown period, when we saw empty shelves and queueing at stores. I would also link this to reducing food poverty and having less reliance on food banks.
Secondly, over the last 30 years, we have seen three incidences of animal disease or animal fraud: BSE, foot and mouth disease and “horsegate”, which could have been so much worse and, indeed, could have been a food scare. Now we have Covid-19. Then there is geopolitics, which looks at the internal and external
shocks—internal such as Covid-19, and external such as the flooding that we saw last winter and earlier this year. We have never faced a time of greater instability than at the moment: leaving our traditional partners in the EU trading bloc and looking to trade on World Trade Organization terms, with the current instability in the World Trade Organization, its dispute mechanism in disarray, and the United States having blocked judicial appointments. Then there is the potential closure of borders, owing to any hostility or crises that might arise in other parts of the world. I commend Amendment 35 and hope that it might attract the support of the House and the Minister.
I also lend my support to Amendment 36, which goes to the heart of the Bill, supporting healthy food farmed in an environmentally sustainable way.
Amendment 70 seeks to remove the words
“have regard to the need to”
and reinforces the idea that Clause 1(4) must encourage the production of food by producers in England rather than simply having “regard to”. With these few remarks, I beg to move.