§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress his Department has made in ensuring that British beef is bought for British armed forces. [55748]
§ Mr. RookerGovernment Departments are generally required to look for best value for money in their procurement decisions and it would contravene the Treaty of Rome to operate a "Buy British" Policy.
Nevertheless, following a request from the UK, last summer a regulation was agreed in Brussels, authorising the sale of 1,200 tonnes of UK intervention beef to UK armed forces and associated personnel. The MOD's suppliers began taking over this beef in September and, apart from those forces stationed overseas, all new supplies of beef to the armed forces will be wholly British.