The government risks being blindsided by a major food supply emergency because Defra has failed to “encourage businesses, households and communities to strengthen resilience”, a stinging new report by the National Audit Office has warned.
While the government had designated food as one of 13 Critical National Infrastructure sectors essential for the country to function properly, it had done “too little” to prepare for the growing challenges posed by cyber-attacks, geopolitical turmoil, climate change and potential national power outages, claimed the NAO’s Resilience of the Food Supply Chain to Disruptions paper.
The NAO noted that private-sector businesses had succeeded in keeping the food supply chain running through recent challenges such as the war in Ukraine and the Covid pandemic, in most cases without the need for significant government assistance.
But with short and long-term risks to food supply becoming more likely and “potentially more severe”, it found that Defra was now “less confident” in the food sector’s ability to withstand future shocks without government intervention over the next five to 10 years.
The warning comes amid the ongoing war in the Middle East and mounting concerns over the impact of climate change on food production and food security, exacerbated by the rapidly developing El Niño climate pattern.
Read more: UK food supply in ‘firing line’ as El Niño ‘supersizes’ to record highs
Defra had taken some positive steps to improve its preparedness for food supply disruptions, such as expanding its Food Supply Chain Resilience team and increasing its focus on planning for catastrophic events where food supply would be seriously affected, the report, published on Friday, conceded.
However, engagement with industry and wider civil society had been lacking in recent years, claimed the public spending watchdog, which noted businesses had limited input in the development of Defra’s ‘playbook’ for responding to food supply disruptions, “creating a risk that plans may not work in practice”.
The NAO pointed to how scenario-planning exercises testing Defra’s preparedness for catastrophic events that could severely disrupt food supply had also “largely excluded food supply chain businesses, with some indicating that they would welcome inclusion in future exercises”. The most recent of these exercises had been undertaken in 2023.
Meanwhile, local resilience forums had indicated to the NAO that they lacked clarity from Defra on what was expected of them in the event of disruption.
The NAO also cited “structural issues” within Defra as a significant hurdle in dealing with supply chain shocks, pointing to how the department had admitted in 2025 that it had “very little confidence that cross-government work to build resilience was sufficiently joined-up”.
Defra additionally lacked the legal powers it may need during a catastrophic event to maintain food supply, such as the power to “direct businesses to take emergency action”, it noted.
Calls for Defra to ‘refresh’ approach to resilience
In order to strengthen the food supply chain’s resilience to disruptions, the NAO recommended the government department should “refresh” its approach to engaging with industry, and assess the potential costs and benefit of approaches to build resilience in other countries.
Defra should also review its response plans and legal powers to act, while working with the Cabinet Office to “ensure future initiatives to encourage greater preparedness by households and communities include appropriate detail on food preparedness”.
Recent disruptions had “shown the resilience of the UK’s food supply chain, but risks are increasing in likelihood and severity”, warned NAO head Gareth Davies.
“Defra should learn from approaches taken in other countries, and strengthen preparedness for emergencies by testing plans with local government and industry,” he urged.
Davies’ concerns were echoed by Commons Public Accounts Committee chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, who warned that while the UK had maintained food supplies through recent disruptions, Defra “cannot afford to be complacent”.
As the threat of severe disruption grew, “it must strengthen its understanding of supply chain vulnerabilities and take faster action to improve the resilience of government, businesses and communities before these risks become reality”, he insisted.
In response, a Defra spokesperson said the prime minister had “made clear that food security is national security. He’s met with farmers and recognised the role they play and challenges they face with a new package of government support”.
The NAO report showed “risks to food supplies are becoming more complex, which is exactly why we are working with farmers and the food and drink industry to strengthen the UK’s food security and resilience”, they added.
“While our food businesses and supermarkets have continued to feed the nation through significant disruption, we will carefully consider the report’s findings and recommendations as part of our ongoing work to build a more resilient, productive and sustainable food system.”
The NAO’s warnings come amid mounting concerns over the resilience of food supply chains in the face of myriad global challenges. Last week, Marco Forgione, director general of the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade, told The Grocer a Cobra-committee-style government mechanism to protect food security needed to be “a priority”.
Groups such as the Cold Chain Federation have also expressed concern over supply chain vulnerabilities. A report by the trade body in June warned the cold chain sector was “not acknowledged as critical national infrastructure”, despite its crucial role in transporting half of the UK’s food and drink.
Meanwhile, 2 Sisters Food Group president Ranjit Singh Boparan this week urged government to “work with industry to improve critical national infrastructure”, particularly in areas such as water supply – with the business still transporting water by road to one of its processing plants in Devon after supply was curtailed during July and August’s drought.
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