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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage people to purchase locally-sourced food.

The Government is keen to see an increase in the amount of locally grown seasonal produce consumed in the UK. The Plan for Public Procurement, published under the 2010-2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition Government, includes a balanced scorecard to help define the criteria of bids for food and catering contracts.

The scorecard rewards tenders which commit to serve locally sourced food and those that highlight the benefits of seasonal increases in the availability of certain types of produce. Use of the balanced scorecard is mandatory for central Government departments and executive agencies, and Defra is working to increase its uptake in the wider public sector.