DEPARTMENT FOR
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS News Release (News Release ref:
374/08) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 26 November 2008
Britain's
hospital patients, civil servants, armed forces personnel and
others eating in government establishments are being treated to
menus that increasingly feature seasonal, home-grown food, Farming
and Environment Minister Jane Kennedy said today.
Ms Kennedy said that the latest figures on the amount of British
food used by the public sector showed that the Government was
taking the necessary action to create a level playing field for
local food producers and suppliers.
Ms Kennedy said:
"If you eat an egg in a hospital, government canteen or army
barracks in Britain, that egg will be British, and the milk in
your tea will almost certainly be British, which is the result of
the Government's drive to buy more local produce and support
local businesses.
"Small and local producers are the lifeblood of our food
industry, and that's why we've made such an effort to
increase the amount of local, seasonal food served by public bodies.
"Buying local food and eating with the seasons where
it's possible reduces the impact on the environment and
supports our businesses, and the government is looking even
further at how to increase the amount of British food we buy and
increasing the opportunities for small producers and suppliers to
tender for government contracts."
Across the board, the proportion of British food used by
government departments has increased since the first report,
particularly among the big buyers. For example:
* The NHS Supply Chain now sources 70 per cent of its food from
domestic sources, compared with 58.5 per cent a year ago.
* The Ministry of Defence has increased the amount of British
produce it uses from 43 per cent in 2007 to 59 per cent in 2008.
* The National Offender Management Service (previously HM Prison
Service) figures show an increase from 37 per cent to 49 per cent
this year.
Figures for the proportion of domestically produced food used by
Government departments also reveal that from 1 April 2007 to 31
March 2008:
* 100 per cent of eggs used by government departments were British.
* Almost 100 per cent of all milk supplied to Government
Departments came from the UK.
* At least two thirds of all public sector menus use seasonal produce.
The report is part of the monitoring of the Public Sector Food
Procurement Initiative (PSFPI), one of the key aims of which is to
increase tendering opportunities for small and local food
producers to help them win contracts to supply government
departments and other public bodies.
Notes to Editors
1. Copies of the reports on the proportion of domestically
produced food used by Government Departments for 2006/7 and 2007/8
are on the PSFPI web site at http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/sustain/procurement/awareness.htm
2. The reports also show the proportion of domestically produced
food supplied to hospitals and prisons under contracts negotiated
by the NHS Supply Chain and HM Prison Service.
3. Defra launched the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative
in August 2003, with the Prime Minister's support, to help
deliver the Government's Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy.
4. Public procurement law regulates the purchasing by public
sector bodies of contracts for goods, works or services. The law
is designed to open up the EU's public procurement market to
competition and to promote the free movement of goods and
services. It does not allow public bodies to give greater weight
to locally produced food and drink when deciding to award
contracts. There is also an obligation on public bodies to award
certain contracts, whether these are subject to the procurement
rules or not, in line with certain EC Treaty principles, including
the principle of non-discrimination, equal treatment,
transparency, procedural fairness, mutual recognition and proportionality.
5. The legal and policy framework does however provide public
bodies with the flexibility to be innovative in their procurement
and, through the PSFPI, the Government is encouraging them to:
* Increase tendering opportunities for small and local producers,
which can help achieve value for money for the taxpayer in support
of UK public procurement policy by increasing competition in; and also
* Work in partnership with their contractors to similarly open up
their supply chains where this is commercially viable.
6. Public procurement of food and catering accounts for £2
billion in England.
7. Key PSFPI objectives are to: promote food safety; increase the
consumption of nutritious food; improve the sustainability and
efficiency of production, processing and distribution; increase
tenders from small and local producers; increase cooperation among
buyers, producers and along supply chains; and improve the
sustainability and efficiency of public food procurement and
catering services.
8. Other important objectives cover consumer behaviour, organic
food, animal welfare, fair treatment of suppliers and catering
staff, and catering for ethnic minority, cultural and religious groups.
9. The Meat and Livestock Commission and now the Agriculture and
Horticulture Development Board have worked under the PSFPI to
improve supplies of red meat into the public sector. It produced a
DVD to promote less popular cuts of meat in the public sector and
the Government Office for West Midlands and the Heart of England
Fine Foods with Defra funding recently launched a cook book of
recipes using less popular cuts. http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/sustain/procurement/word/meatyMealsForSchoolCooks20080929.doc
10. Defra continues to look for new ways to deliver the
objectives of the PSFPI and has recently commissioned consultants
to evaluate the PSFPI and recommend improvements. The report is
due in February 2009.
11. More information is given on the PSFPI web site at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/sustain/procurement/index.htm.
It contains the publication "Putting it into practice"
that explains the issues to public bodies and what they need to do
- http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/sustain/procurement/pdf/psfpi-putting-into-practice.pdf
12. The web site also provides advice to producers to encourage
them to supply the public sector either directly or through first
tier suppliers. http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/sustain/procurement/sellingpublic.htm.
Defra is, for example, funding English Farming and Food
Partnerships' "Share to Supply" programme to
encourage and help farmers and food producers cooperate in
supplying the public sector.
13. OGC's food commodity standards are published online at
http://www.ogc.gov.uk/environment__sustainable_food.asp
Public enquiries 08459 335577;
Press notices are available on our website http://www.defra.gov.uk
Defra's aim is sustainable development
To subscribe or unsubscribe to Defra's mailing list go to: http://nds.coi.gov.uk
Once on the NDS website see Sign up
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR
Website
http://www.defra.gov.uk