CCTV will be mandatory in all slaughterhouses in England under new plans announced today (11 August 2017) by Environment Secretary Michael Gove, as he outlined a series of measures to cement the UK’s position as a global leader on animal welfare.

The proposals will deliver a manifesto commitment for CCTV to be required in every slaughterhouse in England in all areas where live animals are present, with unrestricted access to footage for Official Vets – reassuring consumers that high welfare standards are being effectively enforced.

The Government has also confirmed it will raise standards for farm animals and domestic pets by modernising statutory animal welfare codes to reflect enhancements in medicines, technology and the latest research and advice from vets. The codes will remain enshrined in law and the first to be updated will cover chickens bred for meat.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:

We have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and the actions I am setting out today will reinforce our status as a global leader.

As we prepare to leave the EU, these measures provide a further demonstration to consumers around the world that our food is produced to the very highest standards.

Consultations on both proposals will be accessible online from 9am on 11 August 2017.

Under the new plans for CCTV, footage would be accessible to the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) Official Veterinarians (OVs), who monitor and enforce animal welfare standards in the slaughterhouse. The FSA has strict processes in place for the approval of slaughterhouses, and specially trained vets carry out checks to make sure the welfare of animals is protected throughout their time in the slaughterhouse. If breaches are found, a slaughterhouse can be given a welfare enforcement notice, have its staff’s licences suspended or revoked, or be referred for a criminal investigation.

Welcoming the Government’s plans, British Veterinary Association President Gudrun Ravetz said:

Mandatory CCTV in all areas of slaughterhouses will provide an essential tool in fostering a culture of compassion that could help safeguard animal welfare and we are particularly pleased to see a commitment to Official Veterinarians having unrestricted access to footage, which BVA has been calling for. Vets’ independence and unique qualifications help ensure that the UK will continue to have the highest standards of animal health, welfare and food safety.

Heather Hancock, Chairman of the Food Standards Agency, said:

The Food Standards Agency takes a zero tolerance approach to any breaches of animal welfare standards in slaughterhouses. Last year, we concluded that it was time to make CCTV compulsory in slaughterhouses, progress on voluntary adoption having plateaued.

I and the Board of the FSA warmly welcome Defra’s consultation about making CCTV mandatory. We look forward to the introduction of a comprehensive requirement for using, accessing and retaining footage from CCTV in abattoirs. We see CCTV as an invaluable management tool for business owners to help with compliance with official controls and to improve animal welfare standards across the industry.

Updates to the meat chicken welfare code have been developed to reflect the most up-to-date best practice on poultry farms across the country. Welfare codes on laying hens, pigs, dogs, cats and horses are expected to be updated over the next year.

Over the past 9 months, 230 small businesses from beauticians to forklift truck training companies, which were rejected for loans by some of the UK’s biggest banks, have gained £3.8 million from alternative lenders.

The government-backed bank referral scheme, launched in November 2016, requires 9 of the UK’s biggest banks to pass on the details of small businesses they have turned down for loans to three finance platforms – Funding Xchange, Business Finance Compared and Funding Options. These platforms then share their details with alternative finance providers and go on to facilitate a conversation between the business and any provider who expresses an interest in supplying finance to them.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Barclay, said:

Small- and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of Britain’s economy and it is right they have access to a wide range of sources of finance.

A refusal from a big bank should not be the end of the line for a small business and, thanks to our match-making scheme they have another avenue to try for funding.

Over 200 businesses from beauticians to forklift truck training firms have received the money that they need to grow and we expect this number to increase as the scheme matures.

Loans resulting from this scheme ranged from £200 to £500,000, with an average size of £16,000. A number of sectors have benefited including construction, retail, technology and science.

A fourth finance platform, Alternative Business Funding, will join the scheme from 1 November 2017 to widen further the options available to businesses. The government will continue to work with banks to embed and improve their referral processes.

Mike Cherry, National Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses, said:

FSB championed the proposals for a mandatory bank referral scheme, to diversify the lending market and boost the provision of alternative finance to those turned down by the main traditional banks. We welcome that Government has delivered the three platforms and congratulate the scores of firms that have benefited in the scheme’s early stages. To provide further economic benefit across the UK the scheme must now scale-up, with more referrals and more businesses successfully securing finance as a result.

Keith Morgan, CEO of the British Business Bank, said:

As highlighted by our recent 2017 Small Business Finance Markets report, the most common response from smaller businesses when they do not get the full amount of finance applied for is to give up or cancel their plans. This can mean businesses missing potential expansion opportunities, with a knock-on effect on UK economic growth. It is therefore heartening to see the positive start made by the bank referral scheme.

Research shows that 71% of businesses seeking finance only ask one lender and, if rejected for finance, many simply give up on investment rather than seek alternative options. In 2016 220,000 small and medium sized business sought a loan or overdraft, 25% of these were initially declined by their bank and only 7% of those declined were referred to other sources of help.