Committees

Public Sector Procurement of Food

Inquiry

In 2014, Defra published “A Plan for Public Procurement,” which showed that in 2010, the UK public sector spent over £2.4 billion annually on procuring food for beneficiaries including schools, hospitals, prisons, government agencies, and care homes. The Plan outlined new standards and guidelines for food procurement by public bodies, focusing on economic competitiveness, nutrition, and the production process. The report established a revised Government Buying Standard (GBS) and a ‘balanced scorecard’ for public procurement as part of a toolkit for food procurers of public bodies. Recently, there have been calls for the National Food Strategy commissioned by Defra to address food procurement.

Public procurement is currently governed by EU rules. The 2019 Conservative Party manifesto stated: “When we leave the EU, we will be able to encourage the public sector to ‘Buy British’ to support our farmers and reduce environmental costs”. After the transition period ends, the UK can change procurement rules, though this will be subject to other agreements, including the future relationship with the EU.

Read the call for evidence for more information about this inquiry.

Upcoming events

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Past events

Wednesday 3 March 2021
10:00am Private
Private meeting 3 March 2021
Virtual meeting
Tuesday 12 January 2021
2:45pm Private
3:30pm Public
Public Sector Procurement of Food - Oral evidence 12 January 2021
3:30pm
  • Victoria Prentis (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Ananda Guha (is Deputy Director, Food Exports, Promotion and Partnerships, Agri-Food Chain Directorate at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Simon James (Director | Constitution & Borders at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Virtual meeting
Tuesday 1 December 2020
1:45pm Private
2:30pm Public
Public Sector Procurement of Food - Oral evidence 1 December 2020
2:30pm
  • Andy Jeffery (Owner at Farringtons)
  • Greg Parsons (C0-Founder at South West Food Hub)
3:30pm
  • Howard Stevenson (Supply Chain Manager at Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation)
  • Jason Swettenham (Head of PSPI at Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service)
  • Kirstin Morris (Category Development Lead at National Health Service (Supply Chain))
Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 10 November 2020
1:45pm Private
2:30pm Public
Public Sector Procurement of Food - Oral evidence 10 November 2020
2:30pm
  • Rob Percival (Head of Food and Health Policy at Soil Association)
  • Ruth Westcott (Sustainable Fishing and Climate Coordinator at Sustain)
  • David Bowles (Head of Public Affairs at RSPCA)
Room 5, Palace of Westminster

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  • Email: efracom@parliament.uk
  • Phone: General enquiries: 0207 219 1119 | enquiries: 020 7219 3138
  • Address: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA