Industry celebrated in parliament
This week I attended the Food and Drink Federation’s (FDF) parliamentary reception to celebrate the exceptional work of the UK food and drink industry, the largest manufacturing sector in the UK.
Welcoming attendees, FDF president and chairman and CEO of Nestlé UK and Ireland, Fiona Kendrick, praised the 400,000 people working across the UK food and drink industry and highlighted recent successes, including news that FDF members have collectively reduced their water use by almost a quarter since 2007 as part of an industry wide water reduction target. Kendrick also reiterated the federation’s commitment to increasing the number of technical apprenticeships by 20 per cent by 2017 in order to address a looming skills shortage.
Elizabeth Truss MP, secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), also spoke at the event, sharing her belief that commitments to the food and drink sector played a part in the conservative party winning the election – including its promise to triple the number of apprenticeships in the food and farming sector.
Neil Parish MP, chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, highlighted the huge future for traceable and safe food in the UK, maintaining the country’s good reputation for quality and safe food in export markets.
Closing the event, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Food and Drink Manufacturing, John Stevenson MP, called on parliamentarians to get involved with the group.
