Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate with Cabinet colleagues of the amount and proportion of public sector spending on food that was (a) locally-produced and (b) certified to high environmental production standards in the last 12 months.

The public sector procures approximately £5bn of food and catering services annually, with hospitals, prisons, armed forces and central Government departments required to comply with the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (GBSF). Defra consulted on updates to the GBSF last year, including proposals to increase the amount of food procured to higher environmental production standards, such as LEAF and organic within the public sector.

We are currently considering how best to update the GBSF to support the transition to a healthier, more sustainable food system. The updated standards will be forward-looking, and we will not be producing a retrospective review of spend over the last 12 months.