Sixth Report - Public Sector Procurement of Food
Select Committee
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
HC 469
21 April 2021
No response data available yet.
Government response
Third Special Report: Public Sector Procurement of Food: Government Response to the Committee’s Sixth Report of Session 2019–21 · published 5 Jul 2021
Recommendations & Conclusions
8 results
1
Recommendation
Para 17
It is essential that the Government sets buying standards for public procurement of food in...
Recommendation
It is essential that the Government sets buying standards for public procurement of food in order to achieve value for money and ensure that high quality food, produced to high standards, is served by public bodies. However, standards are only …
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Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
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2
Recommendation
Para 18
The Government should make adherence to the GBSF mandatory for the public sector in England.
Recommendation
The Government should make adherence to the GBSF mandatory for the public sector in England. We are supportive of proposals that the balanced scorecard should also be mandatory across the public sector, particularly for the NHS in England, but we …
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Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
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3
Recommendation
Para 24
There is no reason for the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering (GBSF) to...
Recommendation
There is no reason for the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering (GBSF) to contain exemptions to meeting food production and animal welfare standards set in legislation on the basis of cost. There are suspicions that public bodies procuring …
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Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
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4
Recommendation
The GBSF are outdated; in some areas such as animal welfare the baseline standards are...
Recommendation
The GBSF are outdated; in some areas such as animal welfare the baseline standards are lower than the industry norm. In other areas, such as how to meet net zero emission targets, they lag behind current Government ambitions. The Government …
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Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
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5
Recommendation
Para 40
The Government has associated leaving the EU with the opportunity to encourage the public sector...
Recommendation
The Government has associated leaving the EU with the opportunity to encourage the public sector to “buy British” and reduce environmental costs. It is, however, clear that even under EU rules, the UK already had opportunities to support British suppliers …
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Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
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6
Recommendation
Para 41
The Government intends to support more sustainable land management and food production through provisions under...
Recommendation
The Government intends to support more sustainable land management and food production through provisions under the Agriculture Act 2020. It is therefore providing financial support for farmers who can demonstrate that they are producing food in ways that benefit the …
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Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
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7
Conclusion
Para 54
SMEs have long faced difficulties in accessing public procurement opportunities.
Conclusion
SMEs have long faced difficulties in accessing public procurement opportunities. There has been some progress since Defra’s 2014 Plan, but it has been slow. The pilot run by Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES) using the Dynamic Purchasing System …
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Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
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8
Recommendation
However, the south west pilot has been delayed because of the need to redeploy Government...
Recommendation
However, the south west pilot has been delayed because of the need to redeploy Government resources to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. While this delay is understandable, there is a risk that the pilot may fail before it has even …
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Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
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