Category Archives: News

For the £110bn-a-year agriculture and food sector in the UK, the EU accounts for 60 percent of exports and 70 percent of imports. As there is likely to be no trading or customs agreement with the EU, it will mean that we will have to trade with the EU on World Trade Organisation (WTO) tariffs. The WTO tariffs will increase the price of goods coming into the UK, and this will have a significant adverse impact on the agricultural industry and consumers.

Although we will be able to agree on trade deals with other parts of the world (if we leave the EU), we should not compromise on our high standards for animal welfare, environmental and food standards. The government also needs to ensure that whatever border agreement they finally settle on, that movement of food perishable goods is not at risk.

Public Health England estimates that a quarter of children between two and ten years old are overweight or obese. There is a strong relationship between obese children and adults who have grown up and are overweight. Records show that obesity among children starting their first year of primary school has risen for the second year in a row and results from a survey of more than 1 million pupils across England, show 32.4% of girls and 36.1% of boys in the final primary school year are overweight or obese. Unfortunately, the children in deprived areas are much likely to be obese than those from affluent areas.

As the children grow obesity increases the risk of many health issues, including heart disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, cancers, depression and anxiety.  Estimates suggest obesity cost the NHS over £5 billion a year.

There is no single solution to obesity, and sustained actions are required to change poor diets. The government says that obesity is a priority and they have made efforts to introduce a soft drinks levy and sugar reduction programme. The government, however, needs to act on adverts for unhealthy foods and junk food.

I remember when the World cup was held in Mexico (1986) a TV commentator remarked his taxi, that was taking him to the TV studios, swerved from one side of the road to the other to avoid the potholes. In fact, the only people who drove straight were those who were drunk. The statistics for potholes are staggering:

• Potholes cost British motorists an estimated £2.8 billion every year;
• Over £30 million is paid out in compensation claims;
• It is estimated that road maintenance is underfunded by £1 billion every year. If local authorities were given the funds required to maintain the roads it would take English local authorities 12 years to catch up on the current backlog;
• RAC call-outs resulting from cars hitting potholes was up to 5,540 incidents in the first three months of this year;
• February 2018 alone and in a 2016 survey, 39% of the AA’s members claimed potholes had damaged their cars;
• The average amount allowed for each repair is £53. A Department for Transport spokesman couldn’t explain how the figure was broken down.

Potholes result from water trickling into cracks in the road surface and freezing. When the ice expands, it cracks the tarmac. The weather is usually blamed for the state of the roads.

With Americas’ announcement of tariffs on steel and aluminium, there are fears of a global trade war. If a trade war starts is WTO strong enough to intervene and stop it?

Over the last decade, numerous stalled negotiations have beset WTO credibility. The Ministerial Conference in Kenya in 2015 for the first time failed to support the Doha mandate. An ineffectual WTO will hurt everyone, but the most significant impact will be felt by the poor. In 2010 the Millennium Development Goals achieved one of its objectives, and that was to cut extreme poverty by half. Achieving this objective was aided by economic growth in poorer countries that took advantage of low tariffs and open markets where WTO played an essential role in overseeing trade rules are appropriately negotiated, implemented and monitored.