The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) consultation is titled ‘Seeking views on possible changes to public sector food and catering policy’, and it closes on September 14th.
A spokesman for Defra says: “This is a key opportunity for the sector to shape the policy and give views on the proposals in the round, and we would encourage anyone with an interest to respond.
“This consultation is expected to be of greatest interest to public sector contracting authorities, food business operators, the food industry, Government departments and agencies, local authorities, consumer groups and public bodies.
“Currently, public sector food and catering policy comprises two main documents: the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (GBSF), and the balanced scorecard – a methodology for evaluating contract tenders.
“In the new proposed policy, we have combined content from the GBSF and the balanced scorecard, streamlining the two documents into one. We have also added data reporting proposals to make the policy more robust and ambitious.”
A summary of the major proposed changes are as follows:
- New fair and transparent procurement guidance principles
- A new ambitious target that 50% food spend is on food produced locally or certified to higher environmental production standards
- Updates to existing standards so they reflect latest scientific evidence and national sustainability priorities, and clearly align with broader Government policies, such as the Defra waste hierarchy guidance and Government dietary recommendations
- Additional new standards. These include standards on soy, local culture and diversity and customer satisfaction
- New data reporting requirements
To find the consultation visit: https://consult.defra.gov.uk/public-sector-food-procurement/food-and-catering-consultation/