food – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of Exeter asks about production of alternative milk products

The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 19th January 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to British farmers for the development of alternatives to dairy milk products, such as oat milk.

Lord Benyon (Con): We will always support British farming. We are introducing schemes and policies that enable farmers to have resilient businesses, produce the food our nation needs, enhance animal health and welfare and also to protect and enhance the natural environment.

Bishop of St Albans asks about school breakfast programmes

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 9th January 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to expand the National School Breakfast Programme.

Baroness Barran (Con): The government is committed to continuing support for school breakfasts and has extended the National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP) for an additional year in November. We are investing up to £30 million in our national school breakfast programme until the end of the summer term in 2024. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment and wellbeing.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about marketing of free-range eggs

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 7th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the 16-week grace period during which eggs from birds that were intended to be free-range may be marketed as such despite the introduction of mandatory housing measures on 7 November.

Lord Benyon (Con): Egg Marketing Standards provides a 16-week derogation period during which the free-range description can be retained on eggs even if hens have been housed.

Bishop of Exeter asks about increasing food costs in supermarkets

The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 14th November 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government how they are working with supermarkets to ensure that affordable staple foods are available on the shelves this winter given the increasing food cost for (1) consumers, and (2) retailers.

Lord Benyon (Con): Defra has well established ways of working with industry. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement with supermarkets and producers in order to tackle the cost-of-living challenge. Through this engagement, Defra will continue to explore the range of measures food retailers can take to ensure the availability of affordable food. For example, by maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing measures.

Bishop of Exeter asks about relationship between food suppliers and retailers

The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 8th November 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the annual survey conducted by the Grocery Code Adjudicator which identified a deteriorating relationship between food suppliers and retailers; and what steps they will take to improve that relationship.

Bishop of Manchester asks about food supply to Northern Ireland

The Bishop of Manchester received the following written answer on 5th September 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester asked Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure an (1) adequate, and (2) diverse, supply of food for those of (a) Orthodox Jewish faith, and (b) other faiths, in Northern Ireland.

Bishop of St Albans asks about heatwave impact on agriculture

The Bishop of St Albans asked the following question on 21st July 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked: My Lords, it is right that we think about the effect on human beings, but these high temperatures have a huge effect on our agricultural sector, particularly on livestock. Extreme heat reduces milk yields from cattle, for example, and reduces fertility and increases the number of miscarriages.

What work is being done by government scientists to prepare our agriculture industry if this continues, and what advice is being given in the short term to help our first-class British agriculture sector adapt and continue to provide the food as it does so well?

Bishop of St Albans asks a question on microplastics in food production

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 19th July 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the prevalence of microplastics in food production.

Bishop of St Albans asks about food prices

On 19th May 2022, the Bishop of St Albans asked a question during a debate on inflation and food prices:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his replies on this important area, but is he concerned, as a number of people are, that some farmland is now being taken out of production because it is being bought by companies for carbon offset? Indeed, one of the issues about some of the rewilding is that, sometimes, good farmland, which could help us, is now not available. What are Her Majesty’s Government doing to increase our food production, both for our own security but also so we can export to help those other countries that are facing huge hikes in prices?

Bishop of Gloucester asks about food affordability

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 5th April 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the merits of an Affordable Food Innovation Fund being included in the White Paper to be published in response to the National Food Strategy.

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