TORY MP for Central Devon Mel Stride has welcomed government plans to boost domestic food production and improve UK food security. 

Mr Stride, who is also Work and Pensions Secretary, attended the second yearly Farm to Fork Summit at Downing Street on Tuesday, May 14. 

Published for the event was the first-ever UK Food Security Index, which will allow the government to monitor food production across the country. 

Also announced were the upcoming appointment of a tenant farming commissioner to protect the rights of tenant farmers, and a new supply chain adjudicator to oversee enforcement of new measures to help farmers get fair prices in the egg, fresh produce and pig sectors. 

“Food security is vital to our national security, and we must do all we can to support our farmers to produce the best of British food,” Mel Stride MP said. 

“I am delighted to see the government acting on matters which have been raised with me by farmers in my constituency.” 

Sir Robert Goodwill, who is the Conservative MP for Scarborough and Whitby and chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, added: “We urge the government to keep its commitment to enshrine the requirement to publish the [UK Food Security] Index in law and to do so at the earliest opportunity. 

“The farming sector works tirelessly to feed the nation and protect its natural environment, and I wholeheartedly welcome the PM’s commitment to backing our British farmers.  

“We welcome [the] announcement of the upcoming appointment of a tenant farming commissioner who will provide a strong voice for tenant farmers throughout the country. Tenant farmers form an essential part of our farming communities, and it is essential that their rights are protected and respected. 

“We also welcome the announcement of a new supply chain adjudicator, and we look forward to hearing how they will work with the groceries code adjudicator to ensure greater fairness and transparency throughout the whole food supply chain. 

“We look forward to questioning the farming minister further on these announcements when he appears before our committee next week.”