New Right To Food UK Commission launches in Westminster

Media Release from Right to Food UK Commission:

Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne will officially launch the Right to Food UK Commission in Parliament today (Monday 17 November).

Its central mission is to provide a Right to Food roadmap to end hunger and foodbank Britain.

Jointly established by the Right to Food Campaign, led by Ian Byrne in Parliament, the University of Westminster, the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), and the Food and Work Network, the Commission will gather evidence, and seek submissions, from across the United Kingdom, including in Liverpool, Newcastle, Belfast, Cardiff and Glasgow.

A list of high profile and prominent academics, activists, trade unionists and campaigners will act as commissioners during the work of the Commission.

The formation of a Right to Food Commission comes against growing concerns that foodbank Britain, created by 14 years of Tory austerity, has become normalised even under a Labour government.

There is a growing feeling that the Labour government must do more to lift children out of poverty and to stop so many children suffering in food insecure families.

The forthcoming budget at Westminster is an opportunity to help those millions of people who often don’t know where their next meal is coming from and whose children are quite literally going to bed hungry.

During its evidence sessions, the Commission will chart the negative impacts and long-term disadvantages that are the inevitable outcomes for children living in food insecure households.

The six evidence sessions taking place across the UK, will shine a light on food insecurity, its impact on public health - especially for children and families - and the reliance of millions on emergency food aid and volunteers. These sessions will hear evidence from experts and those with lived experience of food poverty and examine causes, effects and solutions to the issues.

Professor Barrie Margetts, Chair of the Commission and Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the University of Southampton, said:

“Food security isn’t just about availability, it’s about affordability, accessibility and time. The food exists, but it’s priced out of reach for so many now. The global food system makes unhealthy food cheap and nutritious food expensive, while wages and benefits stagnate and rents soar. The Commission will explore these issues, as well as many more, and develop practical plans to deliver the campaign’s five key demands and a right to food law.”

Ian Byrne MP, Vice Chair of the Commission, and Parliamentary lead of the national Right to Food Campaign, stated:

“I’m truly sorry we have had to launch the Right to Food UK Commission in Parliament and to push for essential Right to Food legislation. But, tragically, too many people in this country are going hungry and living in food insecure households and we need urgent action to end this situation. Our intention is that all evidence gathered by the Commission will strengthen our case for the need to end food insecurity and help provide a roadmap for the Right to Food to be legislated in the immediate future.”

Sarah Woolley, Vice Chair of the Commission and General Secretary of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), said:

“The Right to Food Commission is a very important initiative. Food insecurity affects my members, the very people who grow, process, deliver and serve food are themselves unable to afford to eat the food that they produce. Legislating for a right to food and putting in place policies that banishes food insecurity once and for all must be a priority for this Labour government and we hope that the work of the food commission acts as a roadmap that the government can draw upon.”

Professor Alex Colás, Birkbeck University and Co-Ordinator of the Food and Work Network, said:

“The Right to Food Commission will be a landmark moment in the campaigns for food justice and security in the UK - including that of the Food and Work Network where we have addressed the fact that many workers who produce our daily bread themselves go hungry. Up and down the country, charities and communities are mitigating the effects of a national food crisis through emergency aid. But what we need is for every person's basic entitlement to affordable, accessible, nutritious food to be enshrined in national law. This Commission will give us a roadmap to that destination.”

Dr Sharon Noonan-Gunning, Senior Lecturer in Global Public Health Nutrition at the University of Westminster, Chair of Right To Food London and a registered dietitian who studies health disparities and food policy effects on vulnerable groups, is serving as a Commissioner. She said:

“The Right to Food UK Commission is a genuine opportunity to move beyond promises to action. I am delighted to be serving on it and to help drive forward a roadmap for the Right To Food legislation we know is urgently required.”

Dr Regina Murphy Keith is a Royal College of Nursing (RCN) fellow, a nurse midwife and Reader at the University of Westminster leading Global Public Health Nutrition education and research, and will serve as a Commissioner. She stated:

"It is an honour to serve on the Parliamentary Right to Food Commission and contribute towards establishing a legal right to food in the UK. Gathering evidence from across the country will ensure that the diverse lived experiences of individuals inform the legislation arising from our work."

ENDS

Notes to editors

The launch of the Right to Food UK Commission will take place on Monday 17 November in Westminster.

Contacts

If you need further information or wish to interview Ian Byrne MP or any other Commissioner, please contact the office of Ian Byrne MP on ian.byrne.mp@parliament.uk or Tommy Kane on tommy@unityconsulting.scot

Work of the Commission

After launching in Parliament on 17 November 2025, the Commission will hold its first evidence session in Liverpool in January 2026, followed by sessions in Newcastle, Belfast, Glasgow, Cardiff, and London.

Each Commission session will be preceded by a Citizen’s Assembly the night before.

The Right to Food UK Commission will consider:

• The extent and nature of food insecurity across the UK, including the various nations and regions and specific localities.

• The effects of malnutrition and food insecurity on public health outcomes in the UK.

• The impact of current labour market conditions, welfare provision, and asylum/immigration policy as drivers of food insecurity.

• The role of public policy frameworks in tackling food insecurity – and the potential for interventions by Central Government, devolved national and regional bodies, directly-elected Mayors and local authorities.

• How to ensure support and investment for collective community-based food initiatives

• How best to legislate for an effective and enforceable statutory Right to Food.

The considerations above will be framed around the Right To Food Campaign's five demands:

1. Universal Free School Meals - free school meals for all children

2. Transparency on Food Costs in Wages and Benefits - Government must reveal how food costs are used in wage and benefit calculations.

3. Independent Enforcement - Create a regulatory body to ensure government accountability.

4. Community Kitchens - Fund community dining and meal programmes

5. Ensured Food Security - Integrate food security into all policy areas.

Call For Evidence

The work of the Commission will be further strengthened by a Call For Evidence that will first be made at the Parliamentary event on Monday 17th November to encourage contributions from those with lived experience of hunger, as well as organisations and individuals who wish to share their knowledge and expertise.

For details on the Right To Food UK Commission’s Call for Evidence and how to submit evidence, visit www.ianbyrne.org/rtfcommission-call-for-evidence

Right to Food UK Commission - Composition

Chair:

Barrie Margetts, Emeritus Professor, University of Southampton

Vice Chairs:

Ian Byrne, MP for Liverpool West Derby & Parliamentary lead, Right To Food Campaign Sarah Woolley, General Secretary, Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union

Commissioners:

Kemi Akinola, Deputy Leader Wandsworth Council

Angela Carriedo, RRD, MSC, PHD. Policy Sec WPHNA, Lecturer, Aston University, Consultant, Public Health Nutrition and Policy

Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, Barrister and human rights activist

Jen Clark, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Director, Amnesty International

Alex Colás, Professor, Birkbeck College, University of London

Paul Doherty, Deputy Lord Mayor, Belfast City Council

Daniel Kebede, General Secretary, National Education Union

Regina Murphy Keith, Reader, University of Westminster

SallyAnn Kelly, Former Chief Executive, Aberlour Children’s Charity

Kevin Morgan, Professor, Cardiff University

Sharon Noonan-Gunning, Senior Lecturer, University of Westminster

Ian Sinha, Professor and Respiratory Consultant, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Trust and University of Liverpool