This morning’s BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme carried a report about food supply to care homes, schools and hospitals in the event of a no deal Brexit.
The piece reported that daily conference calls between the food industry and government are planned to check on supplies and prices in the event the UK leaves the EU without a negotiated agreement.
Defra has a Food Chain Emergency Liaison Group, which includes food supply chain stakeholders, to plan for all scenarios ahead of EU Exit. We are also working closely with other government departments and key suppliers for schools, hospitals and prisons to ensure continuity of supply is maintained after we leave the EU.
A Defra spokesperson said:
As you would expect, the government is putting in place sensible contingency plans to ensure critical public service providers are prepared in the event of a no deal Brexit.
The food industry is already well versed at dealing with issues that can affect food supply, and we are meeting weekly with industry to plan for all scenarios.