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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs plans to convene a meeting with representatives of the small abattoir sector, farming organisations, and animal welfare bodies to consider the recommendations made in recent sector reports and proposals for safeguarding local slaughter capacity.

Defra maintains close engagement with the small abattoir sector through two formal groups: the Small Abattoirs Working Group and the Small Abattoirs Task and Finish Group. These forums bring together industry representatives, regulators and delivery bodies to identify challenges and opportunities facing the sector and to collaborate on practical solutions that support the sustainability of local abattoir facilities.