Ahead of a debate in Westminster Hall on Tuesday, the Countryside Alliance has shared a briefing note about domestic farming and food supply.
The full briefing note can be downloaded here, with the key points summarised below.
- The government’s plan for land use change envisages that 14% of England’s current
agricultural land would see a significant reduction or total loss of food production
by 2050.
- As part of our campaign for a ‘rural reset’ in relations between the government and
the countryside, ahead of the 2026 Budget the Countryside Alliance wrote to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer asking for it to include ten measures that we believe
would help relieve disproportionate rural burdens. Two address farming directly
and others involve farming as well as other rural businesses.
- The government published its Animal Welfare Strategy in December 2025. Measures
included efforts to improve the welfare of farmed animals, including phase-outs of
farrowing crates for sows and cages for laying hens.
- Improving animal welfare in farming is welcome, but there is little point in setting
ever higher standards at home while allowing the import of products produced in
countries with lower standards.
- A recent Countryside Alliance report on the public sector’s procurement of British,
as opposed to imported, food found that only small minorities of central
government departments and local councils were monitoring the origins of their
procured food, or had a policy of seeking to procure more food produced in the UK.
- The domestic food supply is a matter of national security and must be protected.