Roundtable with The Rt Hon Victoria Atkins MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Rt Hon Victoria Atkins was elected as the Member of Parliament for Louth and Horncastle in May 2015. Prior to her election, Atkins was a criminal barrister specialising in prosecuting serious organised crime.

Atkins has served a number of high-profile roles in government over the course of her political career – she was Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in 2023- 2024, Financial Secretary to the Treasury in 2022-2023, and Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice and Minister for Afghan Resettlement between 2021 and 2022. Atkins led the Ministry of Justice’s work on prison operations and policy, youth justice, tackling violence against women and girls, and rape and serious sexual offences.

In her current role, Atkins has been particularly vocal about food security and farming issues. She has criticised the Labour government’s agricultural policies, particularly changes to inheritance tax that she argues threaten family farms and the UK’s food security. Atkins emphasises the importance of supporting businesses to produce food sustainably and profitably, advocating for policies that protect rural communities and the agricultural supply chain.

During her time as Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Atkins played a key role in shaping environmental fiscal policy. She oversaw inflation-linked increases to the Plastic Packaging Tax and launched a consultation on adopting a mass balance approach, making it easier for businesses to verify and use chemically recycled plastics. Atkins also supported the expansion of the Deposit Return Scheme, reflecting her broader commitment to a circular economy and practical, industry-aligned sustainability goals.

The Companies in attendance will be:

PepsiCo
Mars Food UK
Waitrose (John Lewis Partnership)
British Exporters Association
Portman Group
Premier Foods
General Mills
British Soft Drinks Association
British Glass
The Packaging Federation
National Federation of Fish Friers
British Beer and Pub Association
British Egg Industry Council
Oatly
Humane World for Animals UK
Green Alliance
British American Tobacco
Ramsden International
Sysco
Open Cages