Curry industry faces ‘catastrophic meltdown’ warns Baroness Uddin

Any recession or job losses elsewhere is likely to have profound effect on this business.

Curry businesses across the UK are “likely to face catastrophic meltdown” in a post-lockdown world, Baroness Uddin told members of the House of Lords last week.

With parliamentary debates being held virtually via video call, the Baroness further warned that the upcoming “immigration point-based system will further exacerbate the pressure on their survival” by depriving them of qualified staff from outside Europe.

But the member of the House said she looked forward to “the Home Secretary fulfilling her promises made during the Brexit campaign to support this industry and to recruit skilled chefs from abroad”.

Speaking on the contribution made by businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Baroness further said: “Any recession or job losses elsewhere is likely to have profound effect on this business.”

Baroness Uddin added that she was also proud of the way the industry – a collective 11,000 restaurants and 80,000 staff – had reacted in the face of adversity, describing them as “the pride of Britain” for their “formidable endeavours”.

She revealed: “Despite all these factors, the majority of restaurants, if not all, throughout the four nations have responded to this emergency in earnest by donating ready-made meals to hundreds of thousands of vulnerable families — particularly during the month of Ramadan — and of course to every hospital in their locality as well as to care staff.”

While inviting her peers “to commend the work of the Bangladesh Caterers Association” particularly – a 5000-strong member organisation – she informed them of how the lockdown “has impacted hundreds of thousands of families for whom this has been their livelihood for generations”.