England's food policy coordination and the Covid-19 response.

The impact of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and the response of government and non-government actors, from February-September 2020, offers critical insights into the current state of England's food policy processes and operations, and in particular the coordination of national food policy approaches. This study aims to clarify and solidify the discourse around food policy coordination by differentiating between routine coordination of the activities of government, and strategic coordination of such policy activities with higher-level strategic goals, such as those associated with a healthy and sustainable food system. This framework is applied to the case study based on documentary analysis. In detailing the evidence of coordination in the response, including examples of cross-government working, and collaboration across the public, private and third sectors, the findings illustrate the breadth of actors which constituted the policy and governance response. These included public policymakers in national and local governments, and from a range of different government departments; private sector food businesses; and third sector organisations. There was a high level of routine coordination, but also instances of disconnection and delay. A lack of strategic coordination provides an explanatory device for several instances of disconnection and incoherence, including interventions which failed to prioritise nutrition-related health, and the working conditions of those employed in the food sector. The routine-strategic distinction can be deployed to inform discussions on the types of policy coordination mechanisms, such as cross-cutting taskforces or bodies, which might be instituted to support connected working on food.

Conceptualising Disruptions in British Beef and Sheep Supply Chains during the COVID-19 Crisis

This paper explores the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis as a disruptor to Britain’s beef and sheep supply chains. The assessment of COVID-19 impacts is based on the triangulation of farming and industry news reports, submissions to a government COVID-19 enquiry and interviews with industry experts. We find that livestock farming and farm services were least affected compared to processing, retailing, foodservice, or consumers. Primary and secondary processors continued to operate during the first COVID-19 lockdown but had to quickly become 'COVID secure’. The most dramatic effect was the overnight closure of hospitality and catering and the redirection of supplies to the retail sector. This picture of a resilient British beef and sheep industry may also be conceptualised as relatively locked in and resistant to change. Red meat production is tied to the land it farms on and operates on 12–36-month production cycles, making it difficult to change trajectory if disruptions do not directly affect farming. Emerging changes in agricultural payments, trade post-Brexit, and societal and environmental pressures may well be the disruptors that have far-reaching impacts on the beef and sheep supply chains.