Written question asked by Matt Western (Labour) on Tuesday, 24 February 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 26 February 2026. It was answered by Angela Eagle (Labour) on Wednesday, 4 March 2026 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Food: Public Sector

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government has made in its target to deliver half of the food in the public sector from local and sustainable sources.

Answer: The Government remains committed to ensuring that at least half of public sector food is locally sourced or meets higher environmental standards within legal constraints. There is limited existing data about the origin and sustainability of food in the public sector supply chain and the data landscape is complex and fragmented. Defra has therefore begun data collection, which will provide us with detailed insights on the extent to which public sector settings are serving food from local and sustainable sources, and what more can be done.

Secondary information