Ian Gibson (Norwich North, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

(1) what recent discussions he has had on the inclusion of proposals to address hunger and food scarcity in his Department's forthcoming White Paper on food security;

(2) what recent discussions he has had in relation to the inclusion of relief and social protection measures in his Department's forthcoming White Paper on food security.

Jane Kennedy (Minister of State (Farming and the Environment), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Liverpool, Wavertree, Labour)

DEFRA has responsibility within Government for leading the development and delivery of policy on food production and supply across the UK, and works closely with DFID which leads on delivery of global food security. DFID is currently preparing a white paper on International Development—"Building our common future", and the Secretary of State has recently written to Douglas Alexander highlighting the importance of ensuring that food security and sustainable natural resource management are covered in it. DEFRA will also be producing an assessment of the UK's food security later this year and this will include some assessment of food security at the household level.