A government action plan for the implementation phase of its food strategy will not be unveiled until at least next spring, Defra bosses have admitted, as fears grow of a lack of clear policies to take it forward.
Defra presented an update on the strategy during an industry webinar, in which officials appeared flummoxed by several questions put to them by industry representatives.
At one point Tessa Jones, director of Defra agri-food chain, asked for suggestions on how the department should should present food sector growth policies to the government, an area which has been raised by industry as a key priority.
Jones said the government was looking at the issue of growth “through a number of lenses”, adding: “If anyone on this call would like to help us be very specific on the business case and the opportunities for growth, all definitions [will be] gratefully received.”
Sources have questioned the government’s backing of the long-forthcoming food strategy.
Defra published 10 priority outcomes for the strategy in July, before the minister in charge, Daniel Zeichner, was sacked in a reshuffle by PM Keir Starmer.
The Grocer revealed in July that plans for a food white paper to be published next year, to accompany the food strategy’s broad goals on health, sustainability and growth, had been dropped after the intervention of No 10.
Action plan
Asked what Defra’s action plan was, Jones said: “I’m not going to be drawn on the format but we hope to get something out into the world in spring next year.
“There’s lots of discussions going on about what it should look like.”
One source close to the negotiations told The Grocer it was looking increasingly like the government did not have detailed proposals on how to take the strategy forward.
“People who expect some big grand plan in the autumn are going to be disappointed, I fear,” the source said.
Another senior industry source said they feared Defra was already struggling to deliver a coherent strategy given cutbacks to the department.
“Unfortunately this is where we feared the strategy would go. Lots of engagement, lots of analysis, but no action, particularly to address the fundamental question of supporting UK food producers.
“There’s no reason Defra couldn’t have prioritised action on food production in the strategy. To date all it has done is endorse the 10-year health plan.
“It doesn’t need to wait for more analysis and engagement to know tackling food security by improving UK resilience and investment is a priority and achievable if it got buy-in from other departments.
“The risk is other Defra priorities and cuts in resources mean this will be another food strategy which will just gather dust on a shelf.
“I’m not sure, with the cuts, that Defra has either the resources or the enthusiasm to take the food strategy forward.”
Jones admitted she was unable to answer a question on how the government could safeguard measures that the strategy brought in to encourage a switch towards more plant-based diets, as proposed in Henry Dimbleby’s original National Food Strategy report under the previous government.
Jones did, however, provide further clarity on the government’s recent decision to axe the Food Data Transparency Partnership, as revealed by The Grocer.
Acknowledging the FDTP had been one of Defra’s “flagship strategies”, Jones said: “Having got it to a certain stage we recently took the decision that it needed to return to base. It will be re-docking into the food strategy management structures and there will be announcements coming in the next few months on that.”
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