Bulletin: The re-shuffle, family spending and EPR

Government reshuffle – all change at Defra

There has been an extensive government reshuffle, with many senior roles affected. There have been leadership changes at Defra.

Steve Reed, Secretary of State has departed, moving to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.

He has been replaced by Emma Reynolds, who was previously Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister.

Daniel Zeichner, Farming Minister, has departed from the government and has been replaced by Dame Angela Eagle.

The further development of the government’s Food Strategy will be a priority for both incoming ministers.

Family Spending report

ONS has issued a new edition the Family Spending report, covering 2023-24. Data is drawn from the Living Costs and Food Survey (LCF), which covers a voluntary sample of UK households.

The report shows that, in the latest year, average weekly household spending was £623.30, although this conceals a wide range. Spending was up 10% in nominal terms, but up 3% with inflation accounted for.

Spending on retail food and non-alcoholic drink was £70.50, so about 11% of the total. Spending on food and drink away-from-home was £31.20 or 5% of the total.

IGD opinion

With inflation accounted for, average spending on retail food and drink peaked in 2020-21, probably because away-from-home spending was depressed that year due to Covid.

Spending in 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 has been lower and – looking back further – real terms spending on food and drink has barely moved in over a decade. If anything, it has fallen slowly.

IGD has been discussing this issue for some time. The reasons are complex and it is clear that the best efforts of businesses have struggled to turn things around.

IGD’s special event in 2026 will look at the future of the UK food system.

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A new approach to allergens: unlocking food safety opportunities

Consumers rely on businesses to deliver safe and nutritious food. IGD’s Technical Leaders Forum has just completed a new project on managing allergens in food and drink via a collaborative approach.

The Forum worked together to align best practice, developing a consistent template and guidance for assessing allergen risk in manufacturing sites.

By pooling experience and expertise, the group has helped to increase safety for consumers and to improve trust in the industry. This work raises the bar for safety in the UK food and drink system.

Read more about the new approach to allergens in our latest article.

Meat smuggling risk – new Select Committee report

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee has published a new report, warning that meat and dairy smuggling has been growing in recent years, and that this is increasing health risks, as well as presenting a challenge to food security, farming and the economy.

The Committee urged the Government to increase action to tackle this criminal activity, and to raise awareness of the risks associated with illegal imports through a communications campaign. The Government is not obliged to act on the Committee’s recommendations, but will have to publish a formal response to them.

Disease is one of the ten main threats to food system resilience identified by IGD in its latest free report on the subject.

GDP data disappoints

ONS has issued monthly GDP data covering July. This is provisional data, using a limited set of inputs, so it should be used with caution. However, the release shows that the UK economy continued to slow down through to mid Summer. This supports other data suggesting that the economy is still struggling (eg: labour data).

IGD opinion

Turning the UK economy around is a massive undertaking but, as a major economic activity, the food and drink system has a part to play. Targeted structural reform may allow the food system to expand output, helping to support the economy and to bolster local production of protein and produce. IGD’s Viewpoint Special Driving Growth Through A Thriving Food System explores policy options for government.

First EPR bills arriving soon

Packaging producers covered by the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme will receive their first bills (called Notices of Liability) in October. These will be delivered via the Report Packaging Data (RPD) system – Pack UK will inform users of how to access their bills.

Clampdown on use of government emergency funds

The Chancellor has written to heads of government department, setting new, stricter criteria for access to the government’s emergency funds ahead of the Autumn Budget.

IGD opinion

The government’s emergency reserve funds are very small – around £9bn. Government spending this year is planned to be about £1,335bn, so the emergency fund only amounts to less than 3 days’ operations.

Combining the Family Spending and Family Resources surveys, we can see that most UK households have more days’ cash reserves than the government does (although millions of household have no savings).

However, this letter – and the fact that it has been made public – may actually be intended to offer reassurance to lenders that the government has a firm grip on public spending. With bond markets still unsettled, this is a key objective.