The NAO’s report urges the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) to collaborate more closely with businesses and wider society to help ensure a more robust food supply chain.
Pointing to increasingly likely and severe shocks, including extreme weather events, cyber-attacks and disease outbreaks, the report highlights the importance of a stronger and more resilient domestic food system.
The NAO is an independent watchdog that scrutinises central government departments, agencies and public bodies on behalf of Parliament.
The government has designated food as one of 13 Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sectors considered essential to the functioning of the country.
During previous shocks, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the private sector was able to keep the food supply chain operating smoothly, largely without significant government intervention.
However, as the UK’s food resilience comes under increasing pressure from climate-related and geopolitical instability, Defra is said to be less confident in the private sector’s ability to cope with future disruptions.
The NAO said Defra has improved its preparedness for food supply disruptions in recent years through the expansion of its Food Supply Chain Resilience team and an increased focus on planning for catastrophic events.
However, despite praising the department’s engagement during the Covid-19 pandemic, food supply chain businesses told the NAO they have had limited input into policy development and communication with Defra since then.
The report also states that Defra lacks some of the legal powers it may require during a catastrophic event to maintain food supplies, including the ability to direct businesses to take emergency action.
Recommendations for Defra
To strengthen the food supply chain’s resilience to disruptions, the NAO recommends that Defra:
- Refresh its approach to engaging with food supply chain businesses
- Assess the potential costs and benefits of resilience measures used in other sectors and countries, and determine whether they could be applied wholly or partly to the UK’s food supply chain
- Review its response plans to ensure they would be effective in practice
- Review the legal powers available during a catastrophic event that causes severe food supply disruption
- Work with the Cabinet Office to ensure future initiatives aimed at encouraging greater preparedness among households and communities include appropriate guidance on food resilience
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “Recent disruptions have shown the resilience of the UK’s food supply chain, but risks are increasing in likelihood and severity.
“Defra should learn from approaches taken in other countries, and strengthen preparedness for emergencies by testing plans with local government and industry.”
