While the whole food and farming sector has suffered from labour shortages, the situation for the pig sector has been particularly severe. Although the Government has taken measures to address the backlog of pigs on farms awaiting slaughter, the issue remains unresolved and the number of pigs being culled continues to rise. We were particularly disappointed by the Secretary of State’s attitude suggesting the current plight of pig farmers was simply the materialisation of a commercial risk for which businesses should be prepared. This ignores the covid-19 pandemic, for which nobody was prepared, but also the impact of the Government’s immigration policy. Since we took evidence, the sector has faced even greater pressure with feed prices rising as a consequence of the war in Ukraine.