The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 6th June 2025:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to introducing a tax on ultra-processed foods.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about possibility of a tax on ultra-processed foods”The Bishop of Lincoln spoke in a debate on import and export of food and agricultural products from the EU on 2nd May 2024, raising examples from his diocese and the issue of carbon prodigality in imports:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I am grateful for this time to say two things about Lincolnshire. One is that 24% of jobs there depend on the food chain, so are deeply impacted by our import and export arrangements. One of the things that has been brought to my attention is that the Grimsby Fish Dock receives its fish from Iceland over the weekend, for auction and distribution on Monday and Tuesday. Will there be enough environmental health officers on duty over the weekend to ensure that these auctions and distribution can take place under these new rules?
Continue reading “Bishop of Lincoln raises issues of job retention and carbon emissions during debate on food imports and exports”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 22nd January 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the need to invest in infrastructure and technology to support food waste valorisation to reduce (1) greenhouse gas emissions, and (2) the amount of waste sent to landfill.
Lord Douglas-Miller (Con): New provisions in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (as amended by the Environment Act 2021) will require all local authorities and relevant non-domestic premises in England to arrange for the collection of food waste for recycling. Our preference is for food waste to be separately collected for treatment by anaerobic digestion which produces biogas and significant carbon savings over sending food waste to landfill.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about reduction of food waste”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 4th September 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the dangers of microplastics in food; and what steps they are taking to investigate this.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about the dangers of microplastics in food”The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 19th July 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of how much it would cost to expand the sample size for the Food Standards Agency’s Food and You 2 survey to a minimum of 10,000 households.
Lord Markham (Con): The Food Standards Agency (FSA) estimates that it would cost approximately an additional £400,000 per year to increase the sample size of the Food and You 2 survey from 4,000 households to 10,000.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about expanding Foods Standards Agency surveys”The Bishop of Durham asked a question on diversion of food aid and use of international organisations to deliver aid during a debate on protecting the integrity of UK food aid to Ethiopia on 14th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, it happens time and again that Governments start diverting food aid and other aid away from the people who need it on the ground, and time and again we have learned that international organisations such as Christian Aid and the Red Cross, and local faith communities from all faiths, are often the very best at delivering aid and making sure it gets to the people most in need. Can the Minister tell us what is being done to try to get around the Ethiopian Government and use those organisations?
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about food aid to Ethiopia”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the percentage of (1) tomatoes, (2) peas, (3) onions, and (4) carrots, consumed in England that were imported; and for each of those types of produce, what were the countries of origin of those imports.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about produce imports”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to find alternative routes for the export of grain from Ukraine given the closure of Black Sea ports in that country.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Grain is leaving Ukraine through Black Sea ports. As of 19 March, more than 900 voyages carrying over 25 million tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs departed ports to deliver vital foodstuffs to Asia, Africa and Europe through the UK supported Black Sea Grain Initiative. The UK, along with G7 partners, has also supported increased exports of grain from Ukraine through land routes into Europe. Specifically the UK provided £10 million to bolster the Ukrainian railway system and provide greater resilience to facilitate the movement of grain by land exports.
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 17th April 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the authenticity of British honey, following the investigation by the European Commission’s Anti-Fraud Office and the Joint Research Centre in which all British honey samples failed authenticity tests.
Lord Benyon (Con): The UK Government takes any type of food fraud very seriously, including honey adulteration. Defra works closely with enforcement authorities, the Food Standards Agency, and the National Food Crime Unit to ensure honey sold in the UK is not subject to adulteration, meets our high standards and maintains a level playing field between honey producers.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about food standards investigations”The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 13th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to the horticultural industry to support the growth of fruit and vegetables.
Lord Benyon (Con): An innovative, productive, and competitive agricultural sector is one of HM Government’s key priorities.
Horticultural production was worth £4.8 billion in 2021 and is a vital sector, not only in ensuring the resilience of our food supply chains, but also as a major driver of local economic growth and employment.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about support for the horticultural industry”
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