06/12/2022 Devolved powers and rural communities. Small abattoirs

The Labour Party has launched a commitment to major political reforms which it says would see a transfer of power 'from Westminster to the people of Britain'. Included in the plan titled 'A New Britain', would be the devolution of certain powers to regions and counties. The current government has already announced Cornwall, Suffolk, and part North East England would be granted more devolved powers including extra funding and elected mayors, if the local communities there support it. But what could Labour's devolution plan mean for rural communities? We speak to Mark Shucksmith, Professor of Planning at Newcastle University who's worked widely on rural communities and the economy.

All week we're looking at abattoirs, large and small. While large abattoirs are finding it difficult to staff their operations, smaller abattoirs say the burden of regulation, which is more expensive on very low throughput, is causing them to close. The future of small abattoirs has been a concern for many farmers for years and Farming Minister Mark Spencer has said he is actively looking at supporting smaller abattoirs, to keep them running. It might not be in time to save some though. The Tottingworth abattoir in Heathfield in East Sussex is earmarked for closure in January. We speak to farmer Guy McNaughton who's been campaigning to save it.

In Scotland, farmers and crofters in the Western Isles, where producers tend to have small numbers of livestock, rely on small abattoirs. The abattoir in Stornoway is run and subsidised by the Islands' Council. It's a modern operation and takes stock from the length of the Outer Hebrides. We speak to the people who run it and the crofters who rely on it.