Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of food procured by schools for (a) the free breakfast club trial and (b) free school meals is from the South East.

The department spends over £1.5 billion supporting schools to deliver healthy and nutritious breakfasts and lunches in schools. Schools are best placed to make decisions about how provision is made. They have the autonomy to source food locally and sustainably, and to cater to religious dietary requirements based on the needs of their local communities. The department does not hold the requested information, owing to the freedoms that schools have. However, details about the UK’s overall sources of food are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024-theme-2-uk-food-supply-sources#overall-sources-of-uk-food.