17 Sept 2026
New National Audit Office report warns that Defra’s animal disease response plans leave the UK’s food security vulnerable to major supply disruptions.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Key concerns about the UK’s readiness to deal with animal disease threats remain unresolved more than a year after they were first highlighted, a new report has indicated.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has urged Defra to look again at its response plans as part of increasing efforts to improve the nation’s food security.
However, the department insisted it was determined to tackle the issue and was already working to build what it called “long-term” food supply resilience.
Long-standing fears over the UK’s disease preparedness were highlighted in June last year when the NAO found the Government was “not sufficiently prepared” to deal with the growing threat.
But while its latest report, published on 4 September, noted improvements to its resilience governance, it argued more still needed to be done. It said: “Defra does not have a clear way to translate its understanding of risk and the level it is willing to tolerate into clear actions and priorities, as we found in our previous report on resilience to animal diseases.”
The document also noted that a Cabinet Office review carried out earlier this year found there was “moderate improvement needed” in its food supply disruption response.
Although the new report primarily calls for greater engagement with industry, communities and the public to help increase resilience to supply disruption, it also recommended a fresh review to determine whether the department’s response plans “would be effective in practice”.
It argued that such a move could include a re-examination of areas such as its animal disease contingency planning or consideration of whether an independent assessment could help to strengthen them.
NAO head Gareth Davies warned the risk of supply disruptions was increasing in both “likelihood and severity” as he urged Defra to “learn from approaches taken in other countries” by testing its approach in conjunction with both industry and local government.
In response, Defra insisted it was “determined to act now” on the issue and argued a recent package of funding support for farmers dealing with the impact of the current drought demonstrated it regarded food security as a “core priority” alongside national and energy security.
Although it did not directly address the report’s disease-based comments, the department also welcomed what it described as the NAO’s “useful observations” on improving resilience.
A spokesperson added: “We will carefully consider the report’s findings and recommendations as part of our ongoing work to build a more resilient, productive and sustainable food system.”
But Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who chairs the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, said the report showed the department “cannot afford to be complacent”.
He added: “As the threat of severe disruption grows, it must strengthen its understanding of supply chain vulnerabilities and take further action to improve the resilience of government, businesses and communities before these risks become reality.”