Farmers Weekly reports:
Liberal Democrat president Tim Farron has called for a parliamentary debate based on Farmers Weekly’s campaign to get more UK food into our hospitals. Mr Farron, who is also MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, launched an early day motion in support of the Get Better, Get British campaign on 5 June. The motion calls for MPs to debate the issue at the earliest opportunity and calls on the Department of Health and DEFRA to support the campaign’s aims.
And here is early day motion 193:
That this House welcomes Farmers Weekly’s Get Better, Get British campaign which seeks to get more home-grown British produce into hospitals; notes that the NHS spends £500 million per year on food for hospitals, yet only half the food is sourced in the UK; further notes that among the 200 hospitals contacted by Farmers Weekly while researching the campaign, food buying varied widely from area to area, with two-thirds of hospitals saying they did not know where their food was sourced; supports the aims of the campaign to expose the lack of British food served by some hospitals and investigate the reasons behind this, highlight the economic and environmental benefits of buying British and showcase best practice among hospitals and suppliers that buy locally produced food; and calls on the Department of Health and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to get behind the campaign and get hospitals to buy British.
It so far has seven supporters, including Tim’s Lib Dem colleague Andrew George.
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4 Comments
Promoting protectionism and fighting the EU single market – good stuff, Tim!
And in the same week that MPs have been under scrutiny for submitting EDMs written by lobbyists!
I wonder if Tim asked Malcolm Bruce becuase does not want the public to eat meat including British.
In many hospitals it not were the food comes from, but what is the quality of it and much of it is not brillant under the Government cuts in the NHS.
I amazed that this government as not franchised all the catering out and McDonalds in as they use British beef now.
For many poorer members of the public it is now a case that food is now an expensive luxury, the rise of the food banks, which Cleggie says nothing about.
Great job Tim and Andrew! This is joined-up government thinking, Our farmers need all the help they can get. Our hospitals need healthier food. I hope all Lib Dem MPs will rise in support of this motion.
I would imagine that the food bill of the average hospital would be large enough to require a competitive tender. If so wouldn’t it be illegal to restrict companies based in other EU states, or even to give local preference ?