13th Report - Sustainable development goals in the UK follow up: Hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity in the UK

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Government responds to the Committee's nine recommendations by welcoming the report, declining to appoint a single minister or to compare Universal Credit and non-Universal Credit areas, and pointing to new data collection and existing mechanisms.

• On a lead minister, the Government "feels that it is not helpful to appoint a Minister for this single issue", but "will consider" what further steps could enhance how Departments work together.
• New food security questions are being added to the Family Resources Survey from April 2019, so that "from spring 2021" the Government will be able to monitor household food insecurity nationally and for specific groups.
• On Universal Credit, the Government "does not agree" with comparing rates of food insecurity in areas with and without Universal Credit, saying "comparative areas no longer exist" after the December 2018 UK-wide rollout.
• On the Single Departmental Plans, the Government "notes the Committee's recommendations" and says developing a better measure of food insecurity is "an important first step".

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error