King’s Speech gets thumbs up from food and farming groups

UK food and farming groups have welcomed Labour’s proposals for the sector set out in the King’s Speech on Wednesday (17 July), but urged the government to set out detailed plans to back them up.

The speech, marking the state opening of parliament, contained 40 bills that included legislative proposals to bolster food production and promote healthy eating.

Devil’s in the detail

NFU President Tom Bradshaw, responding to the King’s Speech, said his union looked forward to working in partnership with the new government to help deliver its proposals, but called for specific strategies.

“I am pleased to say we have heard this new government repeatedly state that food security is critical for national security,” he said. “Now that it has set out its legislative activity for this session of Parliament, we need to see a plan for food production which backs this up.”

With farmer confidence at an all-time low, investment in food and farming via an increased multi-annual agriculture budget is key to unlocking growth and future prosperity, Bradshaw added.

“A number of Bills included in today’s King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament will be significant for British farm businesses, not least those relating to planning reform and infrastructure, crime and policing, mental health, skills and new technologies and renewable energy opportunities through the creation of GB Energy,” he said.

Policies needed to boost farmer confidence

“Our farmers and growers are ambitious for the future, and with new policies that revitalise farm business confidence, government can help to kickstart economic growth, deliver affordable, climate friendly, high welfare food production, improve the environment, and stimulate clean energy supply.

“We look forward to working in partnership with this new government to help shape the legislation that will deliver this change.”

Hannah Brinsden, head of policy and advocacy at The Food Foundation – a UK charity to improve children’s diets and increase veg consumption – also responded warmly to the King’s Speech, but reiterated a need for detail.

In a statement she said: “The King’s Speech contained some positive first steps on health, reiterating the government’s commitment for the NHS to focus more on prevention. This included specific legislation to restrict the advertising of junk food to children and banning sales of high caffeine energy drinks to children.

Wider steps needed to improve food system

“However, if Labour is going to meet its ambition of achieving the healthiest generation of children in our history, they will need to go much further than this and take a wider range of steps to improve our food system.

She added: “It was positive to see commitments around a better deal for workers, however more action is desperately needed to ensure everybody can access and afford a healthy and sustainable diet, including by enhancing benefits and strengthening existing nutritional safety nets such as Healthy Start and Free School Meals.”

Meanwhile, according to the Grocer, National Food Strategy author Henry Dimbleby is set to return to government as an advisor to oversee key policies on health and the environment.

Henry Dimbleby to make comeback?

Labour sources told the publication that the government is poised for a much wider shakeup on health, and ministers see Dimbleby as the obvious choice to lead the programme.

The Grocer reported in May that senior food industry bosses believed Labour was preparing to revive Dimbleby’s strategy, which was largely ignored by ministers under the Conservative government, if it won the general election.

The former health tsar’s landmark 2021 report included proposals for the soft drinks levy to be replaced by a much wider set of taxes on HFSS food, payable by supermarkets, suppliers and the hospitality sector.

However, Dimbleby quit as a government advisor last year, slamming its “completely shocking” rowbacks in the war on obesity.