To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance the Government have issued to retailers in the UK aimed at increasing food security. (140489)

[holding answer 4 June 2007]: The Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CRNI) (formerly the Security Services) is the Government authority that provides protective security advice to businesses and organisations. The CPNI have had a number of meetings with food retailers to advise on the protection of food supplies, which DEFRA has attended. Protective security has also been discussed at several DEFRA Food Chain Emergency Liaison Group (FCELG) meetings, which a cross-section of stakeholders from the food industry regularly attends.

The major food retailers have robust and resilient business continuity plans to deal with any threat of disruption. DEFRA works closely with all parts of the industry to ensure that appropriate support is available in order to maintain supply to any part of the food chain.

In December 2006, my Department published “Food Security and the UK: An Evidence and Analysis Paper”, a wide-ranging study on food security. This is available on the DEFRA website.