All Government policy articles
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NewsAnimal welfare strategy: more details released by government
More details have been released from the animal welfare strategy
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NewsGovernment u-turns on hated farming inheritance tax policy
The government has announced the level of the Agricultural & Business Property Relief threshold will be increased from £1m to £2.5m when it is introduced in April 2026
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Comment & OpinionBrands should see HFSS policy as a golden opportunity
The rulings, in all their many guises, represent an opportunity to innovate, change behaviours, and create new ways of communicating with consumers, say Rupert Pick, co-founder & global MD, and Louise Forster-Smith, innovation director, at Hot Pickle
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NewsAnimal welfare strategy concerns farmers and delights campaigners
The strategy has pledged to bring improved welfare for farmed animals, including by moving away from confinement system
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NewsBarents Sea cod quota drops following agreement between Russia and Norway
The quota for 2026 has been set at 285,000t, making it the lowest since 1991
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NewsNortheast mackerel agreement does not go far enough, sector warns
This week the UK, Faroe Islands, Norway and Iceland signed an agreement to cut catches of mackerel by 48% in 2026 compared to the level allowed in 2025
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NewsGovernment must tackle misinformation on animal products, welfare campaigners say
Compassion in World Farming, Humane World for Animals UK and The Animal Law Foundation met with MPs this week and urged the government to implement mandatory labelling and stricter enforcement of current consumer laws
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Comment & OpinionCan Minette Batters’ farming review push Defra into action?
Just as MPs were packing up for the festive period, Defra published Batters’ much anticipated Farming Profitability Review – something that had been sat on Emma Reynolds’ desk since October
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NewsPlanning policy framework promises to remove red tape for farmers
The government’s draft National Planning Policy Framework, published this week, has been welcomed by the NFU and others as an opportunity to support investment and speed up planning applications
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News5,000 Brits send letters to their MPs over ‘deteriorating’ supermarket-farmer relations
Riverford Organic’s Get Fair About Farming campaign wants to address the imbalance between growers and supermarkets
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NewsFarmers need a ‘new deal for profitable farming’, says Minette Batters
The deal would recognise ‘the true cost of producing food and delivering for the environment’
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NewsEU trade down by a quarter on pre-Brexit levels, FDF reveals
Exports to the EU between 2021 and 2025 were down by 23.4% compared with the five-year period between 2016 and 2020, according to the FDF’s Trade Snapshot for the third quarter of 2025
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NewsDefra unveils new plans to protect vital UK fish stocks
The latest plans cover North Sea and Channel sprat, cockle, queen scallop, southern North Sea and Channel skates and rays, and southern North Sea demersal non-quota species
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NewsUK seals free trade deal with South Korea
The deal supersedes a previous rollover deal agreed after Brexit
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NewsAIMS slams FSA meat inspections after meat worth £10m held by French
Exporters are facing increasingly ‘officious’ controls at Calais, according to one industry insider, who suggests they are politically driven
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NewsAnalysis reveals ‘retail’s biggest winners and losers’ in business rates shake-up
A Waitrose at Canary Wharf is among the biggest losers, while Harrods is among the big winners, according to the analysis
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NewsEU talks on ‘meaty’ name ban for plant-based foods collapse
Many plant-based brands, including France’s La Vie, have opposed the proposed ban
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NewsNearly £1bn in fishing opportunities secured for 2026, UK government says
Defra announced that deals have secured access to more than 80 stocks and bring next year’s fishing opportunities to over 520,000 tonnes, worth an estimated £840m
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NewsCombinable crop consultation to examine fairness improvements
The eight-week consultation promises to bring in stronger protections for arable farmers, similar to the Fair Dealing reforms in dairy, pigs, eggs and fresh produce sectors
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Comment & OpinionWot, no OOH? Why the HFSS ad ban doesn’t go far enough
In anticipation of the ban, some food brands have spent on reformulating their products. But some have simply shifted marketing spend to billboards