Tag: Nick Smith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons the Rural Payments Agency was not able to make advance basic payments from 16 October 2015.

George Eustice

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) remains focused on making full payments from December. The RPA is on track to make full payments on 2015 Basic Payment Scheme claims as soon as possible within the payment window, making the majority of payments in December and the vast majority by the end of January 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual budget was for food and drink procured for his departmental offices in Whitehall in each of the last three years; and what proportion of all food procured for his Department was sourced from British producers in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Jane Ellison

It is not possible to provide a breakdown of expenditure on food and drink solely for the Department’s building in Whitehall. The Department has spent the following on food and drink procured for Departmental offices in each of the last three financial years:

Financial year £

2013-14 193,591.20

2014-15 159,460.39

2015-16 118,364.32

These costs include the provision of refreshments for external meetings and visitors hosted in the Department’s buildings. Departmental policy is not to provide refreshments for internal meetings.

52% of all food procured for the Department was sourced from British producers for the last reporting period, January to March 2016.

This figure is skewed by the considerable spend on non-indigenous products purchased including large volumes of coffee as well as rice, pasta, tea, bananas, citrus, and exotic fruits. In terms of primary products we can confirm that:

― 100% of Beef is sourced from the United Kingdom

― 100% of Chicken is sourced from the UK

― 100% of Lamb is sourced from the UK

― 100% of Pork is sourced from the UK

― 100% of Free Range Eggs are sourced from the UK

― 100% of Milk is sourced from the UK

― 100% of Yoghurt is sourced from the UK

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the annual budget is for food produced for her Department’s offices; and what proportion of food produced for her Department was sourced from British producers in the last period for which figures are available.

Karen Bradley

The Home Office does not set a budget for food produced for its offices. Catering services are provided by private companies under contract at Home Office buildings and provided to staff without subsidy. Details of the proportion of food produced for the Home Office that was sourced from British producers could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the annual budget is for food produced for her Department’s offices; and what proportion of food produced for her Department was sourced from British producers in the last period for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb

The Department does not have an annual food budget. Catering services are provided via a contract with Interserve Plc, and is operated on a nil subsidy basis.

Annual spend is determined by the contractor and is informed by private sales to members of staff.

Approximately 60% of products across all food and drink categories were sourced from British producers as of March 2016. This proportion reflects that a large volume of food and drink sold includes non-indigenous products such as rice, tea and coffee.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effect of tax credits on farmers.

George Eustice

The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on this issue. However, the NFU has written directly to the Chancellor about tax payments and the National Living Wage. Ministers and Defra officials meet regularly with representatives of the farming industry to discuss a range of issues affecting farm businesses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many food problems were reported through the Food Standards Agency website in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison

The total number of notifications received via the Food Standards Agency food.gov.uk online incident report form was:

― 453 in 2015

― 366 in 2014

― 357 in 2013

The majority of these notifications are from businesses and local authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the annual budget is for food produced for her Department’s offices; and what proportion of food produced for her Department was sourced from British producers in the last period for which figures are available.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Department for International Development does not set a budget for food served in its Department’s offices. Catering services are provided by a private company under contract to Department for International Development and provides food to staff without subsidy. Spending on food is determined by the contractor based on sales receipts from DFID staff.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the annual budget is for food produced for her Department’s offices; and what proportion of food produced for her Department was sourced from British producers in the last period for which figures are available.

Andrea Leadsom

The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not have an annual food budget. Catering services are provided via a DEFRA contract which is operated on a nil subsidy basis.

Annual spend is determined by the contractor and is informed by private sales to members of staff.

Forty-eight percent of food and drink provided through this contract is sourced from UK producers (based on figures for Jan-Mar 2016). This proportion reflects that a large volume of food and drink sold to staff includes non-indigenous products such as rice, pasta, tea, coffee and bananas, and that as this period falls in the Winter season there are out of UK seasonal products procured from the wider EU.

One hundred percent of beef, chicken, lamb, pork, free range eggs, milk and yoghurt is sourced from the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has for the UK to participate in the revised European School Milk Scheme due to be implemented from August 2017.

George Eustice

If the European Parliament formally endorses the proposal for a revised School Milk Scheme in Plenary on 8 March 2016, it is likely to enter into force in spring 2016 and apply in schools from August 2017. We will use this period to consider the new requirements and consult with interested parties. Decisions about the scheme can be made at regional or national level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Rural Payments Agency is expected to resolve post-payment adjustments for the 2015 Basic Payments Scheme before September 2016; and if all outstanding cases will receive interest on their payments.

George Eustice

Any farmer who has received a 2015 Basic Payment Scheme claim statement and noticed a difference from what they were expecting is advised to contact the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

The RPA will investigate these differences over the summer and will make the appropriate adjustments where necessary. However, there is no legal provision to pay interest on outstanding amounts.