Written question asked by Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru) on Monday, 24 January 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 28 January 2000. It was answered by Peter Kilfoyle (Labour) on Friday, 28 January 2000 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent measures his Department has taken to maximise the procurement of domestically produced meat for the armed forces. - Including figures.

Answer: Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent measures his Department has taken to maximise the procurement of domestically produced meat for the armed forces. [107129] Mr. Kilfoyle: The supply of food to our Armed Forces is contracted out to "3663" (formerly trading as Booker Foodservice). They are required to seek best market prices and, in doing so, to give full consideration to British products. As a result our contractor is currently sourcing all beef for consumption by our UK-based service personnel from British intervention stocks. In addition 100 per cent. of our pork and some 50 per cent. of our bacon and gammon is being sourced in the UK. Our contractor has so far been unable to identify competitively priced sources of British lamb but continues to keep this under active review.

Secondary information