All Government policy articles
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NewsLarger startups to benefit from budget venture capital trust shake-up
New rules coming into effect from April 2026 will allow VCTs to invest up to £24m in each company they support, up from a previous £12m cap
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Comment & OpinionCan the UK Packaging Pact survive without its power players?
The issue lies not in the big names yet to have signed up, but in the reasons behind those absences
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NewsGrower groups unite to launch UK Fruit & Veg Coalition
The coalition, made up of key organisations representing organic, agroecological growers across the UK, has been launched to create a future in which more fruit and vegetables are produced in the UK
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NewsSDIL: ‘Lactose allowance’ is ‘unfair’ to plant-based businesses, sector claims
The government this week announced that the sugar tax would now include milk-based and milk substitute drinks
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NewsMorrisons signs store concession deal with vape retailer The E-Cig Store
The standalone concessions will be made up of pods and kiosks within the store as well as external units next to main entrances
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NewsPlastics Pact successor faces battle to convince major food firms to sign on dotted line
A series of major companies that helped spearhead the previous pact have all so far declined to sign up
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Comment & OpinionThe healthy food standard is our best bet to tackle obesity
The government’s healthy food standard would introduce mandatory data reporting and health targets across the food industry, says Lauren Bowes Byatt, deputy director at Nesta
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Comment & OpinionCOP30 failed us but hope is not dead for sustainability
Although many world leaders have failed to deliver, civil society and forward-looking governments forging new pathways demonstrate that progress is possible, says Maddy Haughton-Boakes, senior campaigner at the Changing Markets Foundation
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NewsInflation-linked booze duty rise a bitter mouthful for producers
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has ignored pleas for a freeze on alcohol duty, confirming it will rise with RPI to maintain its current real-terms value
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NewsBudget: Farmers express dismay at minimal changes to family farm tax
Farmers have pledged to continue fighting changes to IHT, with a small concession in the budget described as ’not enough to change the devastating impact’ of the policy
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NewsTreasury confirms new national living wage rates from April 2026
The new rates have prompted a mixed response from trade bodies
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NewsDairy industry welcomes ‘lactose allowance’ in sugar tax change
The government has today announced that the sugar tax will now include milk-based and milk substitute drinks
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NewsSoft Drinks Industry Levy to be expanded and threshold lowered
The Soft Drinks Industry Levy was widely credited with slashing sugar in soft drinks
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Comment & OpinionIs the COP model broken?
The overwhelming sense from campaigners is that the ‘COP of truth’ ended up as one of disappointment
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NewsScottish ministers accused of sinking their own flagship Good Food Nation strategy
Environmental and health groups are up in arms at the changes to the strategy
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Comment & OpinionInside Track: good intentions won’t save the UK food system
If British manufacturers and retailers desert traditional farmers for the most intensive industrial production, it will have significant consequences for our food security, our farming community, and our health and environmental goals, says an anonymous member of the industry insider group Inside Track
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Comment & OpinionWill the wet wipe plastic ban be enough to clear our sewers?
The ban has been popular. Now the government needs to double down and rein in manufacturers’ claims over flushability and misleading on-pack messaging
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Analysis & FeaturesWas COP30 in Brazil another cop-out for climate action?
With no representation from the US, protests and an increased presence of lobbyists, COP30 in Belém has struggled to provide much hope
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NewsSurging Ukrainian egg and poultry imports ‘damaging UK producers’ NFU warns
The government has been urged to ‘support the British poultry sector’ by curbing tariff-free access for cheaper Ukrainian eggs and poultrymeat
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NewsFood Inflation Gateway to assess impact of regulation on prices
The gateway would provide an opportunity to ‘design smarter regulation from the ground up’, according to Defra secretary Emma Reynolds