Small Abattoirs

Ben Lake Excerpts

Thursday 8th May 2025 Westminster Hall

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion Preseli) (PC)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I congratulate the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke) on securing this very important debate. We have heard about the situation for abattoirs in general, and in Wales it is just as stark. The number of operational red meat abattoirs in Wales has dropped from some 60 in 1990 to just 17 last year.

As other Members have eloquently outlined, the importance of small abattoirs to our rural economies cannot be overstated. The hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton underlined how important they are as a cog in a vital supply chain for the rural economy. We should not forget that if we were to lose more of our small abattoirs, many of which face extinction, we would also see the demise of the surrounding agricultural industry. In areas such as Ceredigion Preseli, in which agriculture is a key pillar of the local economy, there would be an economic hit for the wider population, so it is urgent that we maintain the network of small abattoirs and hopefully expand it through Government support.

The hon. Member for Weald of Kent (Katie Lam) mentioned the disproportionate regulatory burdens that small abattoirs face. That complaint and that experience is echoed by some constituents of mine who run a very small abattoir near Tregaron, Cig Oen Caron. They provide an invaluable service to local famers. They not only provide private kill services of a kind that larger operators do not offer, which allow them to diversify their income and build their business, but ensure high animal welfare standards and cater to a variety of farming models. It has already been said that larger operators seldom offer multi-species or rare breed services. Small abattoirs fill that gap in the market. If we were to lose small abattoirs, a number of business models that are so important in all parts of the United Kingdom, including my own, will become unviable.

It is also important to note that if we lose more small abattoirs, the distance that farmers must travel to take their animals to slaughter will increase. Average journey times are already unacceptable, given the added stress, the animal welfare concerns and the carbon footprint.

In Wales, we need to ensure that the existing very small network of proud and, in many cases, family-run small abattoirs is supported. The Welsh Government have responsibility for infrastructure development, so I will not ask the Minister to help us in that regard, but the UK Government can help small abattoirs in Wales with the cost of regulation and the inspection regime undertaken by the Food Standards Agency. The owners of Cig Oen Caron have approached me in recent years to explain the pressure that that added cost places on their business. More recently, there has been an 18% increase to their costs, so the importance of retaining the small abattoir discount is pressing. I would welcome any reassurances that the Minister can offer, not only that the discount will be retained but that the Government will consider with an open mind expanding it for the smallest abattoirs in recognition of the fact that the general costs are increasing.

If we are to maintain a diverse, geographically sparse and accessible network of small abattoirs in this country, the Government need to support it. If they are serious about treating small abattoirs as a key piece of infrastructure—let us not forget that they are critical for our farming businesses and rural economies—Government support through grants to improve infrastructure and with regulatory burdens is well overdue. I, for one, would welcome it if the Government made moves in that direction.