Many thanks to those who contacted me about the pork supply chain and butchers and abattoir workers.
While I understand your concerns on this issue, I am pleased that overall the UK has a resilient food supply chain built on strong domestic production and open markets, and one which has continued to respond strongly to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and labour shortages. I would like to assure you that our supply chain is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption and our high degree of food security is built on access to a range of sources, including robust supply chains domestically, and from other countries.
I support creating a high wage, high skill, high productivity economy, and this ambition explains why the Government will not be introducing a general low skilled or temporary work route. The UK needs to move away from relying on cheap labour from Europe and focus instead on investment in technology and automation.
However, I understand the importance of seasonal labour and I know that Ministers are aware of the challenges that the pig industry has faced in recent months because of the Covid-19 pandemic and labour shortages. I would like to assure you that Defra has been working closely with the pig and processing sectors during this time. I know that my Ministerial colleagues are keeping the market under close review and are continuing to work closely with the sector to explore options to address the pressures industry is currently facing.
I will continue to monitor this issue. Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
