Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum

Morning, Friday, 6^th November 2026

Online

This conference will examine priorities for food policy in England as major programmes for food, farming and land use move into delivery, alongside changes affecting regulation, trade and investment decisions across the food system. Areas for discussion include farm profitability and sector growth, changing trade and regulatory requirements, affordability and public health, food security and resilience, and the implications for coordination across food, farming and land use policy.

It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to discuss what will be needed to take these priorities forward in practice, where responsibilities should sit, and the clarity needed by farmers and businesses making longer-term decisions. Delegates will examine the emerging Food Nation 2040 work and how it might best contribute to taking forward priorities in the Government’s Food Strategy, including where industry involvement and wider stakeholder engagement may be most useful. With negotiations on a prospective UK-EU SPS agreement continuing, delegates will also assess business readiness for the changes expected from mid-2027, including questions around scope and exceptions, transition arrangements and the practical implications for sourcing, labelling, formulations and regulatory compliance.

The agenda will examine what the Government’s response to the Farming Profitability Review 2025 and Farming Roadmap 2050 means in practice for farm businesses across different sectors and business models, including access to environmental support and what experience of SFI26 indicates for future scheme design and confidence in longer-term planning. Delegates will consider what farmers and businesses need from the Farming and Food Partnership Board and sector growth plans, including priorities for productivity, investment, infrastructure, skills and market development, barriers to growth, and fair returns and risk-sharing across supply chains. Delegates will also consider how the Organic Action Plan for England can support growth in domestic organic production and processing, looking at practical barriers facing producers and businesses, and what will be needed to strengthen supply chains and better align domestic supply with market demand.

For food manufacturers, retailers and other businesses, discussion will consider the practical implications of proposed healthy-food sales reporting, possible application of the revised Nutrient Profiling Model, existing HFSS requirements and changes to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. Sessions will examine the design and scope of reporting, implications for reformulation and product portfolios, the treatment of investment already made in response to existing requirements, and what workable implementation and transition will require, alongside wider questions of affordability, consumer choice and population health.

With drought continuing across much of England and businesses facing wider volatility in input costs, sourcing and international supply, the conference will also examine where recent experience is exposing vulnerabilities across farms and food supply chains, and priorities for policy, investment and business planning to strengthen resilience. Discussion will include water and climate adaptation, domestic production and import dependence, preparedness for disruption, and decisions involving productive agricultural land, nature recovery, infrastructure, renewable energy and development.

Policy coordination, governance & delivery
Delegates will consider how the Food Strategy, Farming Roadmap 2050 and Land Use Framework for England can work together in decisions affecting farms, food businesses and local delivery. Discussion will examine responsibilities across government, advisory and partnership bodies, industry and local authorities, as well as what stakeholders need from governance, engagement and implementation arrangements as the different programmes move forward.

Overall, areas for discussion include:

• policy coordination:
  
  • responsibilities for decisions, delivery and accountability across food, farming, health, trade and environmental policy
  • addressing conflicting or overlapping requirements - clarity for businesses and other organisations making longer-term decisions
• governance & industry engagement:
  
  • the developing role of the Farming and Food Partnership Board - routes for sector expertise and stakeholder experience to inform priorities
  • transparency, reporting and accountability
• Food Nation 2040:
  
  • relationship with the Government’s Food Strategy and Good Food Cycle framework - agreeing priorities for joint action
  • respective roles for government, industry and wider stakeholders in delivery
• UK-EU SPS agreement:
  
  • assessing progress of negotiations and preparations for implementation - scope and exceptions
  • transition and sell-through arrangements - implications for authorisations, sourcing, formulations, labelling and supply chains - readiness for future changes to relevant EU rules
• data & evidence: agreeing measures of progress across the food system - making evidence available for national, sectoral and local decision-making - administrative and reporting requirements

Growth, investment & competitiveness
The agenda will examine what recent farming reform means in practice for business viability, investment and confidence across different sectors and business models. Discussion will consider the Government’s response to the Farming Profitability Review, experience of SFI26 and the developing sector growth plans, alongside market conditions, supply chain relationships and access to the finance, infrastructure and skills needed for growth.

Overall, areas for discussion include:

• Farming Profitability Review:
  
  • priorities following the Government’s response - where stakeholders see progress and where further action or clarity may be needed
  • implications across sectors, tenures and business models
• farm support & SFI26:
  
  • lessons from the 2026 application rounds, including access to funding and the first-come, first-served approach
  • predictability and confidence for farm planning - priorities for future scheme design and delivery
• sector growth plans:
  
  • initial work on horticulture and poultry - identifying barriers to domestic growth and investment
  • priorities for markets, infrastructure, innovation, technology adoption, skills and productivity - translating sector expertise into practical action
• Organic Action Plan for England:
  
  • expanding domestic organic production and processing - farm conversion costs and risks - market access - supply chain capacity - alignment between domestic production and consumer demand
• fair returns & supply chains:
  
  • implementation of Fair Dealing requirements - contractual relationships and transparency - allocation of risk, reward and value
  • implications for investment and longer-term business resilience
• investment & innovation: access to grants and private finance - infrastructure and technology adoption - pathways from innovation to commercial use - public procurement and export markets
• workforce & business capacity: labour availability, skills and succession - the Seasonal Worker route - attracting and retaining expertise as production methods and technologies develop
• cumulative requirements: regulatory, sustainability and reporting obligations - sequencing and administrative cost - proportionality for businesses of different sizes

Affordability & public health
Sessions will consider the next phase of policy on healthier food alongside questions of affordability, consumer behaviour and the commercial conditions facing manufacturers, retailers and supply chains. Discussion will examine proposed healthy-food sales reporting, the future use of the Nutrient Profiling Model, HFSS requirements and changes to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, together with approaches to improving access to nutritious food at local level.

Overall, areas for discussion include:

• healthy food sales reporting:
  
  • scope, methodology and comparability - experience from voluntary reporting
  • practicalities and administrative requirements for different parts of the sector - how reported data might inform subsequent policy
• Nutrient Profiling Model & HFSS:
  
  • implications of possible adoption of the revised model - treatment of products reformulated against existing requirements
  • effects on promotion, advertising and product portfolios - transition and investment certainty
• reformulation & product development:
  
  • technical and commercial constraints across different food categories - costs and timescales
  • consumer acceptance and the incentives for continued investment in healthier products
• Soft Drinks Industry Levy: proposed changes to thresholds and exemptions - implications for reformulation, portfolios and pricing - experience from previous changes to the levy
• affordability & local delivery:
  
  • early implementation of Good Food Neighbourhoods - approaches being developed by local authorities and food partnerships
  • local capacity, procurement and community food infrastructure - what may be needed for effective approaches to be sustained or replicated
  • tariff suspension extensions recently announced in the Budget for around 100 food and drink products - impact on consumers
• public health, affordability & choice:
  
  • implications of different interventions for consumers, producers, manufacturers and retailers - effects on costs, availability and supply chains
  • questions around where policy intervention is most effective
• measuring outcomes: indicators for healthier food environments - links between reported sales, purchasing and diets - assessing what produces sustained change

Climate adaptation, food security & system resilience
Further discussion will examine resilience across farming and food supply chains against the backdrop of recent drought and water pressures in England, alongside wider climatic and geopolitical uncertainty. Delegates will consider what recent experience indicates about vulnerabilities in production and sourcing, priorities for adaptation and investment, and the role of food, farming and land-use policy in supporting longer-term resilience.

Overall, areas for discussion include:

• drought & water resilience:
  
  • lessons from recent conditions for agricultural water availability and management - storage and infrastructure
  • preparedness for future periods of scarcity - implications for production and farm investment
• adaptation in practice: soil and water management - changing growing conditions - pests, disease and biosecurity - access to finance and support for resilience measures
• land use decisions:
  
  • maintaining productive agricultural land alongside nature recovery, renewable energy, water infrastructure and development
  • application of the Land Use Framework - implications for planning and investment
• domestic production & sourcing: measuring production capacity and import dependence - exposure to disruption in key commodities and inputs - diversification and security of supply
• supply chain preparedness:
  
  • risks involving energy, transport, trade and international sourcing - contingency planning and information-sharing
  • implications for businesses at different points in the supply chain
• evidence & investment: forecasting and early warning - data for farm and supply chain decisions - directing investment towards identified vulnerabilities - food waste and resource efficiency

All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those already due to attend include a parliamentary pass-holders from both Houses of Parliament and officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade; Department for Education; Ministry of Justice; Climate Change Committee; Environment Agency; Food Standards Agency; Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; HM Treasury; HM Prison and Probation Service; Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, NI; Food Standards Scotland; Food Standards Australia New Zealand; Isle of Man Government; the Welsh Government; and The Scottish Government.