Our research over the years shows that England and Wales now have the most expensive charging system for meat hygiene Official Controls. We’ve written previously about how this inefficient and opaque system of charing is damaging UK competitiveness.

As we now enter the 2026/27 round of FSA charging for Official Controls, we are facing a staggering increase of 24% at a time when inflation is around 3% (CPI). We’re also about to see the discount for large sites disappear which will add to the burden of costs and, in turn, stoke food inflation.

BMPA’s Technical Operations Director, David Lindars commented: “Out of all food groups and categories produced in the UK the meat industry has the lowest profit margin by a country mile. For some small or medium processors this increase could be the tipping point between staying open or closure. We have seen a significant number of abattoir closures over the last couple years that will never reopen due to the lack of profit and very high running cost, when you reach the point of being unable to recover your overheads there isn’t much point in carrying on.”

The meat industry has tried many times to seek reform of the FSA charging system without any positive response. In 2022 the industry applied to the court for a Judicial Review of the charging costs which resulted in some transparency, however the Judge on that occasion did not look at the lawfulness of the fees levied.

Mr Lindars explains: “We have now entered a second Judicial Review which seeks complete transparency of how these costs are calculated, what they consist of and therefore the lawfulness of the fees. We are hopeful that this second Judicial Review will bring full transparency and details of exactly what our industry is being charged for as laid down by law.” As the review progresses, we’ll keep you updated on developments.