Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts has written an op-ed in The Times outlining how the UK can produce good, healthy food for generations to come. The food industry can “be a powerhouse of economic growth, innovation and job creation”, he writes. And the whole industry will get behind the government’s strategy ”if we have a level playing field and rules that are properly enforced”. His comments followed the government’s announcement of The Good Food Cycle, its new food strategy.
He added: ”We must attract private investment into food infrastructure to drive economic growth, strengthen supply chain resilience and boost innovation. To do so, planning reform is essential and, together, we must move faster to unlock the capacity needed for more homegrown production, while we also need a comprehensive workforce plan which can build, nurture and develop the talent required across our food system.”
Meanwhile the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech last night did not trigger many headlines. Speculation that Rachel Reeves would impose new constraints on the amount that people can put into tax-free ISA savings to encourage greater investment, and fears she would impose new taxes on the banking system, didn’t happen, Sky News noted.
That hasn’t stopped the media from criticising future plans by the Chancellor. ’Retailers warn that a £1.7bn tax raid by Reeves risks gutting high streets’, reports The Daily Telegraph. And in a piece on the strong June retail sales the Mail quotes BRC CEO Helen Dickinson, who warns: “If the government includes shops within its new higher rates threshold, then many retailers will be forced to rethink their investment plans. The closure of larger stores would harm the local communities they support, costing jobs and reducing footfall in the area they serve.”
With inflation rising to 3.6% in June, according to new figures published today, Labour has blamed middle-class shoplifters for pushing up prices, the Telegraph reports. Policing minister Diana Johnson has vowed to punish wealthier thieves in a retail crime crackdown, it reports.
The Telegraph also reports on the government’s new Employment Bill, which quotes Next CEO Simon Wolfson’s warning that the plans risk ‘chronic’ overstaffing.
The Grocer’s exclusive on the Trip soft drink ad ban has been picked up by the BBC. Trip’s fast-growing range of mindful drinks has fallen foul of advertising guidelines around health and nutrition claims after claiming that the drinks help you feel calm.
A controversial ad from vegan charity Viva, in which a baby was taken from its mother, has been banned by the ASA, reports the Standard. The ad would have been particularly distressing for viewers who had experienced the loss of a child, said the Advertising Standards Authority.
The Times reports that the government has ditched plans to stop businesses from ‘greenwashing’. It says the ‘green taxonomy’ carbon emissions tool that would have required more accuracy by companies over their environemntal claims has been dropped.
The B&M results are widely covered by the media. The main focus is on the plunging share price, which fell as much as 10% to 232p, noted Reuters. That’s despite the discounter recording its first like-for-like quarterly sales growth in over a year. The Mail dismisses the sales growth as ‘meagre’ and points out that shares have slumped to an all-time low. The Times focuses on “margin woes” which had overshadowed “a good summer”.
The EU is pushing schools in Europe to serve ‘Made in Europe’ fruit & veg, the FT reports, reflected efforts in Brussels to favour domestic indstries, from defence to agriculture.
And finally… in food, fat and pharma, what is really wrong with what we eat’, the FT reviews two new books on the root causes of obesity. By David Kessler and Stuart Gillespie respectively, one is compassionate and scientific, the other angry and polemical, says the review.
No comments yet