Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the ability of the abattoir network in (a) England and (b) the UK to meet the needs of food (i) production, (ii) processing and (iii) security.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

The Government is committed to maintaining a resilient food supply chain. Defra recognises the vital contribution a thriving abattoir network plays in achieving these goals by providing a competitive route to market for producers.

England benefits from an established and resilient meat processing sector which despite some challenging circumstances in recent years has continued to process high quality products ensuring the supply of food and maintaining food security. The Government has full confidence that this will continue to be the case.