Thousands of East Yorkshire pigs culled due to butcher shortage
BBC Yorkshire is the UK’s largest pig breeding area, accounting for 37% of the country’s total output Almost 10,000 pigs in East Yorkshire have been culled and burnt due to a lack of workers to process the animals, a vet has said. Duncan Berkshire said many pigs were left stuck on farms rather than being […]
Which industries employ European workers?
Reality Check team BBC News BBC Prime Minister Theresa May has been outlining her plans for the UK’s new immigration system. She told BBC News: “We’ll be ensuring that we recognise the needs of our economy,” adding she would encourage businesses to train people in the UK and invest in improving productivity. Currently, the only […]
Douwe Egberts coffee workers ‘to be sacked then rehired’
Google JDE has said that no jobs will be lost Hundreds of workers at a coffee processing plant will be sacked and then reemployed on inferior pay and conditions, a union has claimed. Unite said 300 staff at the Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) plant in Banbury, Oxfordshire, have been given notices without any consultation. It […]
Energy drinks ban for children proposed
Getty Images Several ideas are being considered to try and tackle the problem of childhood obesity Selling energy drinks to under-16s could be banned in Wales in a bid to tackle childhood obesity. More than one in four children are overweight when they start primary school, according to official figures. Under Welsh government proposals, takeaways […]
Firms call for more help after ‘haemorrhaging cash’
Katy Austin & Lucy Hooker business correspondents BBC Television chef Nisha Katona says debt could push firms out of business Leisure firms say they need more support after a year of “haemorrhaging cash” and mounting debts due to the pandemic. Businesses from wine bars to bingo halls can reopen on Monday but at reduced capacity […]
Cuba bids for foreign investment to tackle goods shortages
Getty Images Cuba is facing its worst economic crisis in 30 years Cuba says it will allow foreign investors into its wholesale and retail trade for the first time in 60 years. The move is a major shift for the island nation’s Communist government, and overturns a 1960s Fidel Castro policy of nationalising retail. But […]
Northern Ireland agri-food sector set for major review
Conor Macauley BBC News NI Agriculture & Environment Correspondent BBC Northern Ireland’s agri-food sector generates about £5bn in sales each year A review has been ordered into Northern Ireland’s key agri-food sector, with its recommendations potentially influential for future policy. The sector generates sales of about £5bn a year and supports 100,000 jobs. The agriculture […]
Industries join call for Scottish solar power reforms
Magnus Bennett BBC Scotland News Getty Images Companies from a range of sectors have backed calls from the solar industry for urgent changes to Scottish planning law and tax rules. More than 20 firms and trade bodies have written to ministers arguing that business rates and permitted development rights must be reformed. A joint letter […]
Black boxes found as airport staffing probed
Brandon Drenon BBC News, Washington DC Watch: Airport re-opens as recovery work carries on after DC plane crash The black boxes for a commercial flight that crashed into a military helicopter in Washington DC have been located, as questions mount about staffing and other close calls at the airport where the plane was landing. Normally […]
UK’s farming policies contradictory, says NFU head
Digital-Photo.co.uk NFU President Minette Batters criticised the UK government’s “contradictory policies” on farming The government has contradictory policies on farming and risks “repeatedly running into crises”, the National Farmers Union head has warned. In a conference speech, Minette Batters said farming was facing major issues in “an increasingly unstable world”. The UK needed a clear […]