FWD column: Recognise our role

FWD CEO James Bielby urges the new government to remember the vital role wholesale plays in the UK economy and outlines his key asks for the sector

Labour is now the party of government, with a majority of 172 MPs. That means new ministers, and a lot of new MPs from all parties.

Key appointments for the wholesale sector include Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed, Food Minister Daniel Zeichner and ministers with responsibilities for net zero, crime, apprenticeships and the Windsor Framework.

We have worked closely with the Labour opposition for the past two years and it is good to see that work paying off, with stakeholders appointed to ministerial roles.

We have been meeting the Shadow Defra team regularly and Daniel Zeichner hosted our parliamentary events, as well as helping to launch our wholesale manifesto last year.

Vital role

It is clear that this new government, more than ever before, recognises the vital role that wholesale plays in the food and drink supply chain, and the wider economy.

The first indication of what they are planning was seen in the King’s Speech, when they set out the legislative agenda for the next year or so. There are some wide-ranging policies on things like workers’ rights, crime, skills and tobacco and vapes.

The wholesale sector is the backbone of the UK’s food and drink sector, employing 70,000 people directly, and investing in skills and jobs. We will be making the case that they need to carefully evaluate the extensive range of business costs affecting the wholesale sector in their wide-ranging proposals on workers’ rights, including the escalating costs of labour, energy, food, and regulatory compliance.

Recently FWD gave evidence to the Low Pay Commission on the impact of rising wage costs and the challenges it imposes. We know this needs to be addressed and that higher wage costs would ultimately need to be absorbed or passed on to customers.

The Crime and Policing Bill will give the police more powers to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. It is essential that the standalone offence for assaulting or abusing a shop worker extends to wholesale workers, as was planned by the previous government following FWD’s representations. While we’ve already made good inroads with the Labour Home Office team, we will be keeping up the pressure over the coming weeks and months to ensure wholesale is included in Labour’s version of the offence.

Exemption

On the government’s generational smoking ban, FWD will be seeking to ensure that the Bill works for wholesale with an exemption for business-to-business sales to allow retailer workers to purchase tobacco from their wholesalers, whatever their age.

We welcome the commitment from the government to reform the Apprenticeship Levy into a wider Growth and Skills Levy, giving businesses more flexibility to spend levy funds on training. This needs to cover a wider range of courses and include provisions for the practical cost of training.

At FWD, our members have committed to achieving net zero by 2040, a whole decade ahead of the government’s targets.

Our sector has shown that we are prepared to lead the net zero transition if the government is prepared to create a supportive environment to unlock private investment and bolster our ambition.

In the world of politics, things quickly evolve and these are just a few areas we are working on with ministers. Labour in opposition recognised wholesale is a thriving and valuable sector. And now they are in office we will ensure they are responding to the needs of our sector as an essential part of the food and drink supply chain.

Crime Bill Defra FWD column Government Growth and Skills Levy James Bielby King's Speech Low Pay Commission net zero Tobacco and Vapes Bill