Farmers and food prices

That this House deeply regrets the rising cost of food for struggling families; notes that the Bank of England has warned that food prices will continue to rise; further regrets the current pressures that British farmers face, which risk their livelihoods; notes with concern that farmers are struggling with the transition from the old Basic Payment to the new Environment Land Management Scheme (ELMs); regrets the Government’s failure to ensure that all farmers can access ELMs; further regrets that, with rising energy prices, the Government has reduced energy support for farms which are no longer classed as one of the Energy and Trade Intensive Industries; notes the widespread concerns that big food manufacturing conglomerates and supermarket chains could be raising food prices more than they have to; acknowledges that worker shortages are damaging to farms and food supply; and calls on the Government to raise the farming budget by £1 billion, reinstate energy bill support for businesses, class farms as energy intensive, fix workforce shortages for farmers, fishers and food processing, strengthen the grocery market watchdog, and launch a market investigation to ensure food prices are fair for farmers and consumers.