To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what additional steps he is taking to ensure that food is safe to eat. [9733]

At the request of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, I chair the ministerial group on food safety. As part of its work on the establishment of a Food Standards Agency, the group has looked at ways in which we can improve food safety arrangements in the interim. This work has involved a number of Government Departments, principally the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department of Health. Later today, my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will make a statement setting out these measures in full.