Baroness Shephard of Northwold (Con)

My Lords, I congratulate the right reverend Prelate on again bringing a very timely issue to this House. Food insecurity is a serious matter and is increasing across the world, partly because of global conflict, the pandemic and of course climate change. Our severe weather events in the UK—the result of climate change—have included the wettest period on record, as he mentioned, between September 2022 and February 2024. This obviously affected livestock and the drilling of cereals. The first estimate of the 2024 cereals and oilseed harvest in England shows a 22% reduction in wheat compared with 2023. Inevitably, domestic food security will be increasingly threatened by these severe weather events, as the right reverend Prelate pointed out. The measures which can be taken—improved drainage, drought-resistant crop varieties and sustainable soil management, as he mentioned—require investment and government support. Our farmers produce about 60% of our food. Despite the global shocks of Covid and global energy price rises, our national food security has shown some resilience, but the horticulture sector faces particular challenges, such as labour supply problems and high regulatory requirements. Like all employers, growers face increases in national insurance contributions and the national living wage, and the cumulative effect means that there will inevitably be less investment, with some growers leaving the industry altogether. Obviously, a real problem for farmers and growers—who are the guardians of our food security—is the effect of the recent Budget. I am sorry to grind on about this again, but it is in the forefront of my mind and those of all farmers and growers. The IHT changes are the most serious because they will reduce stability, confidence and therefore investment in the whole sector. Horticulture is arguably the most vulnerable to severe weather events, so it is likely to be the worst affected. Given the outraged reaction across rural communities against the Budget, I would like to believe that the Government will respond positively and helpfully. So far, that is not the case. We are talking about food security; it is a serious matter, and it is most certainly not the time to plunge rural communities into deep apprehension about the whole future of agriculture and horticulture. I assume the Government must be getting feedback from their own MPs, newly elected to rural constituencies. They must know that the furious reactions from rural communities to their Budget, which included farmers’ demonstrations—unprecedented, in my experience—are not going to diminish, and rightly so. Our food security is at stake; it is one of the most serious issues facing the Government and they need to take it seriously.