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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of small and local abattoirs to domestic food security, the resilience of livestock supply chains, and the viability of British livestock farming; and whether they intend to include slaughtering capacity in future food security and resilience assessments.

This Government continues to recognise the importance of smaller abattoirs to our national food supply chain and remains committed to maintaining a resilient meat processing sector. Currently about 7% of national meat consumed in the UK goes through smaller abattoirs, although this is a small amount a thriving smaller abattoir network plays a crucial role in driving rural economic growth, creating skilled employment opportunities, reducing journey times to slaughter and supporting farmers that keep rare and native breeds.