CONTENTS

politics first | Corridors
ADVERTORIAL
With chaos at DEFRA, Labour
is on the side of rural Britain
THE UK PLASTICS INDUSTRY - KEEPING
THE UK A KEY GLOBAL PLAYER
74
Rachael Maskell, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs and Labour MP for York Central
Whilst not perfect, our food delivery and
the balance of regulations which enabled
us to trade have been thrown into a state of
uncertainty because of the EU Referendum
vote. The Government’s agreement to
provide subsidy funding until 2020 is a
temporary measure, but 2020 will soon be
here - and without the Government preparing
any alternative. Those working across our
food industries have serious concerns about
the future.
The Government has been totally
irresponsible in the way it approached the
referendum. Before playing roulette with the
nation’s future, it should have scrutinised
what our relationship with our friends and
neighbours amounted to. Importantly, it
should have undertaken a detailed analysis
of the regulations, and determined whether
we had capability and capacity to deliver
our own equivalent regulations with effective
enforcement mechanisms, or if it would have
been better to buy equivalent packages from
the EU.
Cuts to DEFRA’s budgets, more than
any other Government department, at a
staggering 57 per cent, mean resources have
already been cut to the bone. Worse still, no
one knows where the required skills needed
will actually come from. According to reports,
there are only 20 people in Whitehall with
experience of negotiating trade deals, and the
Government is already spending extortionate
sums on consultants and lawyers to help
them through the minefield.
For over 40 years, the European Union has been central
to our food, farming, fishing and environmental policies.
The UK has had a strong hand in determining how we
allow our natural habitats to thrive, while the practical
business of moving food from the ‘plough to the plate’
has been supported by common policies to assist
production and trade.
My question to the Government is: “where
is the plan?” This July, the Government
cancelled the launch of its long awaited
25 year plans for Farming and the Natural
Environment, and the new Secretary of State
is already looking to others to tell her what
is needed.
Chaos is no strategy for delivering our
food security and ensuring that farmers can
operate their businesses. In my discussions
with the farming community, many are
seriously concerned about the impact of the
loss of migrant labour from the EU, putting
the sector at risk. Migrant labour plays a
major role in the horticultural and production
industries, and it is important that security is
provided for those working in the sector.
There is a need to remain competitive in
trading. Our goods will not be marketable if
they do not meet EU standards. We need to
identify where the improvements will come
from and build on 40 years of trading with
the EU and develop a framework to ensure
we have the right systems in place, including
financial drivers, to ensure that business
can continue. The big debates have focused
on the distribution of subsidies and fishing
quotas, a matter previously determined by
the Government. The Government must listen
to those communities and get this right.
My concern for the natural environment is
well recorded. We have serious issues with
air pollution, a need to drive biodiversity
and fears about our water systems if the
Government’s ill-thought-out energy strategy
to ‘frack’ Britain is pursued against the
wishes of communities.
The flooding last year should have been
the wake-up call to manage river catchment
areas and invest in longer, up-stream projects.
However, with the distribution of Government
support focused on the flooded areas, we
may only witness further incidences in the
light of how our climate is changing.
Fragmentation in our waste management
systems is resulting in poorer outcomes.
Ambitions over consumption and recycling
resources need to be incorporated into
business and domestic plans.
The rural communities are frustrated. The
lack of investment in everything including
public transport, broadband, rural policing
and local services, has created additional
inequality in those communities.
Finally, animal welfare needs to be
part of an integrated system. The leaked
announcement, for example, that the badger
cull will be extended is short-term and does
not address the real solution of a bovine TB
vaccine.
Labour is setting out a real ambition for
the future of rural Britain.
The UK plastics industry is crucial to the UK’s economic success. Its products
support many other sectors, including car production, healthcare, construction
and packaging — to name but a few. Our annual sales turnover is £23.5bn and
we are one of the UK’s biggest industrial employers, with a workforce of 170,000.
Plastics will be the material of the 21st century. Their light weight brings energy
savings and reduces pollution in transport applications. Their excellent insulation
properties provide energy efficiencies in buildings. As the global population rises,
plastics packaging will prevent food wastage through its durability, effective
barriers and tight seals.
The good news is that the UK is a global
leader in all these areas — and we plan
to consolidate this position. The British
Plastics Federation has just launched
a strategy for the UK plastics industry
(download available at www.bpf.co.uk/
strategy), which maps out the critical
requirements to keep the UK a key
global player. We have set ourselves
a progressive environmental agenda
building on recycling achievements,
embarked on an education and skills
initiative, and pointed to the future
importance of shale gas as a competitive
source of raw materials. We will also focus
on innovation in energy efficient products
and develop our manufacturing efficiency
by exploiting the possibilities of Industry
4.0.
In the light of Brexit it is imperative that
the government is correspondingly
supportive.
We are players in an international
industry. We import over 50% of our raw
materials and most of our processing
equipment. A significant degree of UK
industry is foreign-owned — as are our
customers. Full access to the European
single market is therefore crucial for our
competitiveness.
Over 10% of our staff are from other EU
member states. We need assurance that
their working rights will be undiminished.
There will inevitably be a focus on overseas business development. We need the
full support of UK government export programmes, particularly aimed at small and
medium-sized enterprises.
The UK plastics industry should certainly be on your radar, as you are likely to
have one or more plastics companies in your constituency. These local companies
may contact you to discuss these points — so please be mindful of all the plastics
industry brings to the UK and help us remain a key player on an international stage.
For further information contact:
Philip Law, Director General, The British Plastics Federation
Email: plaw@bpf.co.uk
Tel: 0207 457 5003
Address: 6 Bath Place, Rivington Street, London EC2A 3JE