Review into £1.8bn catering sector launched

A major review of the way food and catering services are purchased by government and its agencies as well as schools, hospitals, prisons and local authorities was launched today.

More than £1.8 billion is spent in England by public purchasers on food each year and millions of people eat courtesy of the state each day. Up to now, ensuring the sustainability of this food has not been coordinated across government, and individual authorities for the most part have been working on their own initiative.

The review by public sector caterers and buyers, being coordinated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), is looking at issues such as the environmental impact of production and distribution, waste, energy and biodiversity, animal welfare and pesticide use, and nutrition.

It will also examine whether small producers are being given a fair chance to compete for public sector contracts and whether the type of food served can contribute to organisations' wider objectives.

The review involves all public sector purchasers in England, including the National Health Service, which is Europe's biggest public sector purchaser.

Food and Farming Minister Lord Whitty, in Cornwall today to launch the initiative, said: "It gives local suppliers the opportunity to meet local needs."

The initiative will focus on ensuring that public sector food and catering contracts specify appropriate standards for food, and that small and medium-sized suppliers are aware of public sector tendering procedures and are given opportunities to compete.

Lord Whitty said: "We must be sure that the food being served up in our hospitals, prisons, schools and canteens meets key government objectives on, for example, nutrition and the environment. These are quality issues that, with price, must be considered by buyers when looking for value for money.

"Local producers and suppliers - farmers, fishermen and the food processing industry - are well placed to meet sustainability criteria. In the past local, smaller companies have often been by-passed in public procurement and by the big service companies."

The initiative is part of the government's Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food and will feed into the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. It will work within UK policy and the EC Treaty, and EU rules on public procurement.

(gmcg)