§ Mr. Lidington:To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent on food by her Department and by each agency for which it is responsible in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; what proportion of that food by value was produced in the United Kingdom; what guidance she has issued to encourage the procurement of home-grown food; and if she will make a statement. [129381]
§ Ms Hewitt:Approximately 85 per cent. of food purchased on behalf of my Department is provided by our in-house catering contractors, as follows.
Year £000 2001–02 751 2002–03 1,037 65 per cent. of this was spent on food produced in the United Kingdom.
Acquiring similar information on the rest of the food purchased, which is provided by a large number of lesser supplies, would entail disproportionate cost.
DEFRA guidance on sustainable good procurement has been circulated to the appropriate directorates in DTI and to our agencies and non-departmental public bodies.
148WThere is no current exposure for the reinsurance case issued in 1997 as this deal has been fully paid. ECGD has received no claims and paid no claims on this.
I have asked the Department's executive agencies to reply direct to the hon. Member.
Letter from Roger Heathcote to Mr. Lidington, dated September 2003:
You tabled a question on 9 September to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry asking her how much was spent on food by her Department and by each Agency for which it is responsible in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; what proportion of that food by value was produced in the United Kingdom; what guidance she has issued to encourage the procurement of home-grown food; and if she will make a statement.
The direct purchase of food and drink by the Employment Tribunals Service (ETS) consists solely of convenience refreshments for training events and meetings and was as follows:
£ 2001–02 9,597 2002–03 7,868 Since the supplies in question are provided by an external retail supplier we have no knowledge of the provenance of the food and drink involved.
ETS has not issued guidance on the procurement of homegrown food.
Letter from Desmond Flynn to Mr. Lidington:
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to you on behalf of The Insolvency Service in respect to your question (2002/3851) requesting information on how much was spent on food by each Agency in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; what proportion of that food by value was produced in the United Kingdom; what guidance has been issued to encourage the procurement of home-grown food.
Expenditure on food in The Insolvency Service is generally limited to official hospitality provided by The Service in 2001–02 was £37,000 (including the cost of the closure of our London canteen facility) and in 2002–03 was £23,000. This took the form of buffet style services supplied by numerous small catering organisations across the country.
The Agency does not hold any information on how much was grown or produced within the United Kingdom.
Letter from Claire Clancy to Mr. Lidington:
I am responding to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on behalf of Companies House, which is an Executive Agency of the DTI.
The total amount spent on food by Companies House in the year 2001/02 was £212,000 and in the year 2002/03 it was £221,000, of which approximately 55% was produced in the United Kingdom.
The majority of our costs are recovered in the prices charged in the staff restaurant.
149WLetter from Dr. J. W. Llewellyn to Mr. Lidington:
The Secretary for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) to your question on how much was spent on food by her Department and by each agency for which it is responsible in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; and what proportion of that food by value was produced in the United Kingdom
National Weights and Measures Laboratory has spent (a) £5.8k in 2001–02 and (b) £5.2k in 2002–03 on entertainment. This covers the purchase of catering services for Agency events, biscuits, coffee and tea for meetings, consumables for working lunches and entertaining customers. Records are not kept in such a way that the amount spent on UK produce can be identified.
Letter from R. J. R. Anderson to Mr. Lidington:
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the Radiocommunications Agency to your Parliamentary Question about expenditure on food.
Agency expenditure (ex-VAT) on food is as follows:
FY 2001/02 £121,922 of which £75,592 was spent on UK produced goods (62%).
FY 2002/03 £139,560 of which £87,913 was spent on UK produced goods (63%)
We have been assured by our caterers Baxter and Platts that it is their Policy to purchase food in accordance with UK and EC legislation and to satisfy their clients requirements. The Agency encourages all its suppliers to procure all goods and services competitively and to deal with all parties in a fair and reasonable manner.
Letter from Alison Brimelow to Mr. Lidington:
House of Commons Parliamentary Question: 2002/3851.
I am replying to this parliamentary question, tabled on 9 September 2003, about expenditure on food.
Expenditure on food in the Patent Office is generally limited to the provision of official hospitality, some of which is supplied under a contract with an external food supplier. This contract is administered by the Office for National Statistics with whom we share a site. Our recorded expenditure is:
£ 2001–02 38,000 2002–03 46,000. Whilst no analysis of country of origin is available, it is estimated that the greater part of the food supplied was produced in the United Kingdom.