The Real Bread Campaign has written to prime minister Liz Truss calling for urgent government intervention to prevent small bakeries going out of business.
The letter, signed by campaign coordinator Chris Young, warned the new prime minister that many of the UK’s 2,500 micro and small bakeries are under the threat of imminent closure due to a “confluence of external factors”, including skyrocketing energy tariffs and fast-rising costs for ingredients, staff and premises.
While asking for confirmation that micro and small bakery businesses would be included in the government’s list of ‘vulnerable industries’ to receive ongoing, focused support on energy prices, the letter also urged the government to provide the following:
- Easy-to-apply-for grants to cover “huge increases” in operational costs
- The ability to reclaim VAT on energy costs
- The raising of the small business rates relief threshold
- A government-backed, not-for-profit collective procurement body to purchase electricity and flour at bulk rates to enable small bakeries to benefit from discounted prices
- Government support in covering the costs of redundancies, dilapidations to buildings and early surrender costs on leases in the case that a small business is forced out of business.
In addition, the letter called for medium and long-term support in the form of grants to enable micro and small bakeries to obtain advice and assistance on how to become more energy efficient, as well as helping with the necessary equipment refurbishment or replacement.
A local food voucher scheme was among the other proposals in the letter. Offering support to hard-hit consumers, producers and retailers, the vouchers could be redeemable at independent outlets such as small bakeries, market stall and local shops rather than retail chains, the Real Bread Campaign suggested.
Finally, the letter reiterated the call for the Honest Crust Act, a set of proposals drawn up by the campaign including tighter regulation on loaf labelling, composition and marketing.
The letter signed off by quoting two business owners: “Help is necessary to protect the existence of a way of life that otherwise may well disappear, to the detriment of society […] Please, please, don’t let other bakeries die. Once these businesses close, they can’t come back.”
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