A new National Audit Office (NAO) report has suggested that the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) work closer with households, communities and industry to shore up the food supply chain.
Specifically, the NAO report identifies severe shocks including extreme weather events, cyber-attacks and disease outbreaks as issues impacting the UK food supply chain of the future.
The government has designated food as one of 13 Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sectors that it considers essential for the country to function properly.
Recent events such as the Covid pandemic and the impacts of climate change has made Defra less confident about the private sector’s ability to withstand such shocks without greater government intervention.
However, NAO suggests that Defra has done too little to encourage businesses, households and communities to strengthen resilience and prepare for potential food shortages caused by disruption to the food supply chain.
UK households are less prepared for emergencies compared with several other countries, according to government research.
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “Recent disruptions have shown the resilience of the UK’s food supply chain, but risks are increasing in likelihood and severity.
“Defra should learn from approaches taken in other countries, and strengthen preparedness for emergencies by testing plans with local government and industry.”
Meanwhile, local resilience forums have indicated that they lack clarity from Defra on what is expected of them in the event of disruption.
Defra also needs to contend with wider structural issues, the NAO report states.
Despite participating in several cross-government working groups and boards, Defra stated in 2025 that it had very little confidence that cross-government work to build resilience was sufficiently joined-up.
Defra also lacks 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.
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