Welsh meat promotion body Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC) (Meat Promotion Wales) hit the headlines in 2024 over concerns about its culture and performance.
The Senedd’s Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs (ETRA) Committee subsequently held an inquiry into HCC in early 2025.
This article sets out the key issues ahead of the Senedd debate on the Committee’s report on 3 December.
What does HCC do and how is it funded?
HCC is a Company Limited by Guarantee, wholly owned by the Welsh Ministers, and is responsible for developing, promoting and marketing Welsh red meat.
It works across the red meat supply chain in the UK and overseas to strengthen business opportunities, and is the custodian of the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) Welsh Lamb and PGI Welsh Beef brands.
HCC also undertakes research and development, shares information and supports training, to improve cost-effectiveness and quality, and add value to Welsh red meat products.
HCC is funded by the Welsh Red Meat Levy which is jointly paid by producers and slaughterers/exporters, and is raised on all cattle, sheep and pigs slaughtered in Wales or exported live.
Additional funding was previously received from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government, but is no longer available.
HCC is currently developing its new 2026-30 delivery plan, Vision 2030, due for publication in Spring 2026.
Why were there concerns about HCC’s culture?
In November 2024, S4C’s Byd ar Bedwar programme investigated the working culture at HCC and highlighted a high number of staff departures. This article provides a summary of the content of the programme.
Prior and separate to this, the former HCC Chief Executive resigned in June 2024. HCC said he would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had he not resigned, but didn’t elaborate on the nature of the gross misconduct.
It's important to note these issues were outside the scope of the ETRA Committee’s inquiry. They are highlighted in this article for contextual purposes only.
What were the concerns about HCC’s performance?
Amid concerns about low staff morale and dwindling budget (see below), industry stakeholders told the Committee that HCC activity on the ground had decreased and levy payers were seeing fewer tangible outputs. They were concerned about the organisation’s transparency and the value for money provided to levy payers.
However HCC insisted it was “delivering good value for money for levy payers with a limited and dwindling budget for what is a broad scope”. HCC Chair, Catherine Smith, said HCC had delivered all of its key performance indicators (KPIs) and outputs in the previous 18 months.
New HCC Chief Executive, José Peralta, said it would be naive to say staff morale had not been affected by previous events and the negative attention attracted, but measures were in place and morale was improving.
On international activity, meat processor Dunbia said HCC marketing budgets had often been allocated to events that have made little or no impact on red meat sales.
HCC responded saying international events were important for client maintenance and impact is measured through the number of contacts achieved and by ascertaining the volume of meat sold by each contact.
What about HCC’s dwindling funding?
Stakeholders said HCC’s current funding model is unsustainable.
HCC’s Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2023-24 show an operating deficit of £505,274, compared with a deficit of £118,867 in the previous year.
The ‘Directors’ Report’ highlights lower than projected levy income due to a contraction of the national flock and a reduction of the lamb crop, resulting in a decrease in levy income in-year of £458,000 against budget.
Stakeholders were concerned by the impact of declining livestock numbers on the future viability of the industry as a whole, with further knock-on impact on HCC levy funding.
The Director’s Report also says that HMRC changed HCC’s VAT status effective from 1 April 2024. It says HCC can no longer recover a significant proportion of VAT incurred on its costs, reducing expenditure budget by £400,000.
José Peralta told the Committee the 2024-25 accounts will be balanced.
On future funding he said HCC “needs double the amount of money that it has to even have a chance to be relevant in tackling the scope that it has”. Accepting this wasn’t possible he said there should be a model whereby levy payer money should be supplemented “with funding from external sources in a similar quantum”.
The Welsh Government has said it recognises the challenging financial situation for HCC due to several factors including a reduction in the red meat levy income and said it will work with HCC as it develops Vision 2030.
Is HCC’s governance structure working?
Appointments to the HCC Board of Directors are made by the Welsh Ministers.
HCC’s business plan 2022–2026 says the Board is representative of farmer and processor levy payers and others with skills relevant to the future development of the organisation. The Board comprises 11 non-executive directors, including the Chair.
Meat processor Kepak said there is no direct representation of meat processors or livestock markets on the Board and suggested that HCC should revert to being industry owned, as it had been in the past.
However the farming unions argued for maintaining HCC’s current governance structure and independence from the Welsh Government, but advocated for levy payers having more of a say in HCC’s decision-making processes.
HCC said current governance arrangements strike the right balance between freedom of execution and accountability oversight. José Peralta said the advantages of HCC being owned by the Welsh Government included the opportunity for government to support HCC financially.
What did the inquiry conclude and what happens next?
The ETRA Committee’s inquiry report makes recommendations about HCC’s culture, remit, governance, funding, transparency and impact.
HCC welcomed the report, saying it had come at an opportune time as it finalises Vision 2030.
The Welsh Government rejected some key recommendations.
The Committee said the Welsh Government should launch a full review of HCC’s governance and ownership, aimed at enhancing representation of levy payers’ views and increasing wider industry involvement, including considering returning control to the Welsh meat industry.
The Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies MS, disagreed saying five out of eleven Board Members were levy payers and the Board had essential expertise in areas including knowledge exchange, governance, marketing, finance, animal health, and environmental sustainability.
He said that given a new Chief Executive was in place and HCC’s current work on Vision 2030, an extensive review was a matter for the next Welsh Government to consider.
The Cabinet Secretary also rejected the recommendation of a review to identify areas where HCC could improve collaboration with other UK levy boards and Farming Connect.
He said HCC already has effective relationships with other levy bodies and Farming Connect, providing examples of where collaboration was taking place.
Despite these rejected recommendations, it’s clear HCC will be entering a period of change. Senedd Members and the industry will no doubt be eager to scrutinise the new HCC vision when published in the Spring.
You can watch the Senedd debate on 3 December live on Senedd TV.
Article by Elfyn Henderson, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
