Catering
businesses heavily reliant on global supply chains. All goods imported into the UK from the EU must now be covered by a safety and security declaration (also known as an Entry Summary Declaration or ENS) – a change that aligns EU imports with existing protocols for non-EU countries.
Government policy The extension of the Energy Profits Levy continues to affect the wider economy. While not targeted at food producers directly, higher energy costs – especially for cold- chain logistics and food processing – may further pressure profit margins and lead to price increases for energy-intensive foods such as dairy, frozen, and chilled goods. Policy changes following the autumn budget will particularly impact food businesses. These include both the rate increase to 15 per cent and the lower threshold of employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and a 6.7 per cent increase in the National Living Wage. These changes are expected to drive up labour costs across agriculture, food manufacturing, and foodservice sectors. Many food service suppliers have already responded by implementing cost-to-serve increases which are above and beyond changes to product prices. From a farming and production
perspective, the government’s changes to farm inheritance tax have made national headlines and continue to raise concerns about the viability of family-owned farms. Without exemptions or additional support, there is a risk of reduced domestic
Policy changes will impact food businesses
production, increased farm consolidation, and greater reliance on food imports, all of which weaken the UK’s food security amid global supply chain uncertainty. However, farmers are not only facing the issue of inheritance tax. The abrupt closure of the Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI) to new claimants could have the most profound impact on UK food production. The SFI scheme, which pays farmers to manage their land in an environmentally sustainable way, is a vital source of income, and its abrupt closure will create anxiety and uncertainty for those who miss out.
The unprecedented challenges facing British farmers
After steadily rising for the past five years, British beef prices have surged dramatically since July 2024, driven by lower UK production levels. Since 2005, the size of the English beef breeding herd has fallen by 18 per cent, and some analysts predict a five per cent year-on-year decline in 2025 to 885,000 tonnes. Several factors have reduced livestock numbers, including underlying business profitability caused by farmers facing increased costs for feed, energy, and transportation; all of which contribute to higher production costs.
As a result of this, care home caterers
may be considering alternative protein sources to replace beef on their menus. As chicken is the most popular meat in the UK, accounting for over half of all consumption, this would have been the most cost-effective solution, but the poultry industry is currently facing an unprecedented crisis.
24
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com July 2025
Jonatan Rundblad -
stock.adobe.com
ValentinValkov -
stock.adobe.com
bohbeh -
stock.adobe.com
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