The government has pledged to assess the impact of any new food regulations on businesses and inflation, through a cross-departmental Food Inflation Gateway.
Giving food manufacturers line of sight on upcoming regulations, the gateway would provide an opportunity to “design smarter regulation from the ground up”, according to Defra secretary Emma Reynolds.
“We’ll assess new government regulations for their impact on food businesses and food prices,” she said. “We will give you a single line of sight – you’ll know what’s coming, when it’s coming, and you’ll have time to prepare. We’ll co-ordinate across UK government departments, we’ll sequence regulations sensibly, so you’re not hit with multiple new requirements all at once.”
Speaking to FDF members at the association’s Investment Summit in London, she also promised action to suspend harmful tariffs on ingredients the UK can’t produce itself.
Defra, the Department for Business & Trade and the Treasury will listen directly to businesses to understand where tariff suspensions would be most beneficial.
“You know better than anyone which commodities we can target,” Reynolds said.
“The government wants to help you reduce your costs and we want to see savings passed on to consumers. It’s a win-win for business and families across the country.”
Reynolds’ announcements coincided with the FDF’s publication of proposals it said would help double sector investment from £5.8bn to £12bn, grow exports and help cut carbon emissions by 50% – and boost confidence in a sector where confidence is at its lowest level since Covid.
“It’s really encouraging to hear you talk with such commitment about partnership,” FDF CEO Karen Betts told Reynolds, praising the Food Inflation Gateway as something that could “really help to drive co-ordination” between the industry and government.
“We really welcome the announcements you’ve made about tariff reductions, because it really can reduce immediate costs,” she continued.
Reynolds added the government would continue to work with business to “help reduce costs, improve productivity and improve the growth of the sector”.
“We’re very much up for working together even more closely,” she said.
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