FWD urges incoming Prime Minister to act to support food distribution

The FWD has laid out a five-point manifesto for the incoming Prime Minister to support food distribution in the UK and boost the wider economy.

The next Prime Minister is being asked to adopt five actions that will protect food prices and availability in these exceptional trading circumstances:

• Cut fuel duty by 15p per litre
• Scrap or delay forthcoming policies (including HFSS, Deposit Return Scheme and Extended Producer Responsibility) that would drive up food prices
• Allocate more funding towards public sector food budgets
• Use new border controls to provide sufficient labour for food production and distribution
• Return to the 12.5% VAT rate for hospitality

In a letter to the Conservative Party leadership candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, the FWD explained that its members have been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, labour shortages and the Ukraine war, which have resulted in a huge increase in the costs of doing business.

FWD chief executive James Bielby said: “Ensuring a robust, safe, varied and competitive food distribution network has to be among the new Prime Minister’s first priorities. Costs are going to continue rising, and be passed on to the public, unless the Government intervenes immediately. Our manifesto proposes several actions that would limit those rises, and keep prices affordable in shops, restaurants and public sector contracts.”