Farming is vital to the local economy. Nearly 90% of the two-hundred square miles which make up our constituency is designated protected countryside, either AONB or sites of specific scientific interest (SSSI), and nearly half of my constituents live in rural communities. It is important to me that I spend time with rural business owners, including the farming community, to fully understand their challenges and how I can support them.

Constituents may have seen that at the end of 2023, I organised and co-hosted two rural roundtables with my colleague and neighbour, Sally-Ann Hart, the MP for Hastings and Rye. The first roundtable was for farmers, land owners and land agents with officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). The second was a forum to connect Rother councillors and officers to a wide range of representatives from the Rother rural economy to discuss regeneration, business opportunities, funding, planning, and the logistical challenges of running rural businesses.

I know from speaking with Ministerial colleagues at Defra that they are committed to working with businesses and organisations across the food supply chain, including farmers, manufacturing and distribution businesses and retailers, to ensure that we have a thriving food sector in the UK. I welcome that representatives from the whole food supply chain came together at Downing Street in May 2023 to identify ways in which the Government and industry can work together to boost growth, drive innovation, and improve sustainability in the food sector.

I have also received assurances that Ministers are committed to tacking contractual unfairness that can exist in the agri-food supply chain and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is working to support farmers and ensure they get a fair price for their products.

The Government has launched a review to improve fairness in the fresh produce supply chain, supporting British farmers and growers to receive a fair price for their products and ensuring customers have access to high-quality fresh British products. This review delivers on a key commitment made by the Prime Minister at the Farm to Fork Summit in May and will seek the views of industry on issues including the fairness of contracts between producers and purchasers in the sector, and how supply chain data can be used to support transparency in the negotiation process.

The review, which is open until 22 February, can be found here: https://consult.defra.gov.uk/supply-chain-fairness/contractual-relation…;

I am aware of the petition on Parliament’s website relating to the Grocery Supply Code of Practice.  Regarding the Westminster Hall debate on the petition, which is currently scheduled to take place on 22 January, as a Minister, I am unable to speak in debates other than those that relate to my own Ministerial portfolio. I will, however, read the Minister’s comments in the debate with interest.