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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to issue guidance to local authorities on the procurement of food that is locally produced or certified to higher environment standards.

Defra is responsible for the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (GBSF), which set the requirements for sourcing, cooking, and serving of food for central Government and executive agencies in England. Local authorities are encouraged to comply with these where possible. Further, we have already published a new national procurement policy statement which sets expectations for Government contracts to favour products certified to high environmental standards that we think high-quality British producers are well-placed to meet.