Recommendations & Conclusions
8 items
1
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Public Sector Procuremen…
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 effective if they are followed, and currently we do not …
Government response. The Government recognises the need for a robust process to monitor adoption of the GBSF and will consider potential inspection bodies and remits as part of the GBSF consultation this summer. Currently, Ofsted and CQC inspectors do not have the …
2
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Public Sector Procuremen…
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 have concerns that this may have adverse impacts on smaller …
Government response. Compliance with the GBSF and the use of the balanced scorecard methodology are already mandatory for all Central Government Departments and their Executive Agencies. This includes meals for Government canteens, public prisons and the armed forces. The Government is working …
3
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Public Sector Procuremen…
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 and serving food in the UK are using these exemptions …
Government response. Third Special Report of Session 2021–22 3 To reiterate the Committee’s findings, there is currently no evidence that exemptions are being used. The exemptions were developed to allow for very limited circumstances, and the reasons for not applying the standards …
4
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Public Sector Procuremen…
The GBSF are outdated; in some areas such as animal welfare the baseline standards are lower than the industry norm.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 Public Sector Procurement of Food 25 should lead by example …
Government response. Whilst reflective of policy best practice at the time of development, we agree the GBSF requires updating and should evolve to reflect government priorities and latest evidence. We want our standards to showcase our great food and drink with high …
5
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Public Sector Procuremen…
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 through proxy measures, such as specifying “local” and “seasonal” in …
Government response. . We have a manifesto commitment to encourage the public sector to ‘Buy British’ – to support our farmers and reduce environmental costs. Our vision is that local sourcing will be championed throughout the updated GBSF. This will include promoting …
6
Recommendation
Sixth Report - Public Sector Procuremen…
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 environment, enhance animal welfare and provide other public goods. It …
Government response. We welcome the Committee’s endorsement of the Future Food Framework (FFF) and look forward to progressing the pilot. The FFF supports the Government’s commitments on engaging with SMEs and enabling the public sector to buy more local food, and it …
7
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Public Sector Procuremen…
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 showed promising results, including, crucially, that local sourcing can be …
Government response. We welcome the Committee’s endorsement of the Future Food Framework (FFF) and look forward to progressing the pilot. The FFF supports the Government’s commitments on engaging with SMEs and enabling the public sector to buy more local food, and it …
8
Conclusion
Sixth Report - Public Sector Procuremen…
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 started and that investment made to date may be wasted. …
Government response. We welcome the Committee’s endorsement of the Future Food Framework (FFF) and look forward to progressing the pilot. The FFF supports the Government’s commitments on engaging with SMEs and enabling the public sector to buy more local food, and it …