Public sector urged to look at home produce

The outcome could see much more local and home-grown food bought by schools, hospitals, prisons, local authorities, Government departments and the Armed Forces.

Lord Whitty, food and farming minister, announced the Defra co-ordinated review on Tuesday and it was immediately welcomed by farming organisations, which have long campaigned for such a policy.

Lord Whitty denied he was launching a "Buy British" campaign which would be against EU competition law, but he urged food purchasers to give British producers a "fairer crack of the whip".

He said a lower proportion of British food was bought by the public sector than by the average consumer in the supermarket. The initiative would "give local suppliers the opportunity to meet local needs".

The initiative will concentrate on ensuring:

* public sector food and catering contracts specify appropriate standards for food being bought, including production standards such as animal welfare, pesticide use and overall environmental impacts;

* small and medium-sized suppliers are aware of public sector tendering procedures and are given opportunities to compete;

* food with health benefits is promoted in public sector canteens in line with other Government initiatives on nutrition and healthy eating;

* environmental impacts are reduced, the procuring of organic food is promoted and waste reduced;

* supply difficulties among UK producers are identified and tackled.

"We must be sure that the food served in our hospitals, prisons, schools and canteens meets key Government objectives on, for example, nutrition and the environment," said Lord Whitty.

"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 had often been bypassed in public procurement and by the big service companies.

"More than £1.8bn is spent in England by public purchasers on food each year and millions of people eat courtesy of the state each day," said Lord Whitty.

"Up to now, ensuring the sustainability of this food has not been co-ordinated across Government, and individual authorities for the most part have been working on their own initiative.

"The central delivery plan gives us a framework to co-ordinate the initiative across the public sector."

He said food sustainability was a complex concept. Freshness, nutritional content, production methods, animal welfare, energy and pesticide usage were all important factors.

Sir Don Curry, Northumberland farmer and chairman of the independent implementation group overseeing the delivery of the strategy for sustainable food and farming, said some schools and hospitals were already doing excellent work on buying local food. It had to become normal practice for all buyers.

"There is a real commercial opportunity for the farming industry," he said. "However, if our producers are to play their part in this, Government and the industry must work together to ensure they can supply enough fresh and wholesome produce at the right price."

Good quality, nutritional food could help deliver key objectives in health, educational and behavioural terms.

"It is not only staff that work better after a decent lunch," said Sir Don. "Youngsters can learn better, patients recover quicker and, as research suggests, prisoners are less anti-social."

Jonathon Porritt, UK sustainable development commission chairman, also welcomed the initiative.

"Buying food isn't just about buying as cheaply as possible," he said. "It's about looking at where and how food has been produced, and what the full impacts have been on the environment and individual producers."

The public sector had huge spending power - the NHS alone spent £500m a year on food. "That money should, and must, be used to support high environmental standards and viable livelihoods, and promote health and sustainable development," he said.