Tag: Nick Smith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will place in the Library the report on the suspension of the digital service for the Basic Payment Scheme for farmers which was commissioned by her Department and the Rural Payments Agency in March 2015.

George Eustice

The digital service for the Basic Payment Scheme has not been suspended. Over 80,000 farmers and agents have registered on the Rural Payments system, and farmers cannot be paid without registering on the new system.

Defra and the Rural Payments Agency have received a number of reports from the Major Projects Authority about progress with the Rural Payments IT System. Such reports are not made public in order to protect the effectiveness of the reviews which the Major Project Authority undertakes.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the budget is for food produced for her Department’s offices at Smith Square, London; and what proportion of food produced for her Department was sourced from British producers in the last period for which figures are available.

George Eustice

Defra does not set a budget for food served in the canteen at its Smith Square offices (Nobel House). Catering services are provided by a private company under contract to Defra which leases facilities in Nobel House and provides food to staff without subsidy. Spending on food is determined by the contractor based on sales receipts from Defra staff.

Defra has worked with its current supplier to align the existing contract with the requirements of the balanced scorecard.

The amount of food sourced from British producers for Nobel House was 56% (Jan-Mar 2016). This figure includes non-indigenous products; including drinks such as tea and coffee. It marks, overall, an improvement of 4% over the previous quarter. Furthermore, all meat, milk and yoghurt served in Nobel House is produced in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what proportion of dairy products procured for his Department was sourced from British producers in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Mundell

The Scotland Office has no in-house catering services and does not separately record the purchase of dairy products.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 15 July 2013 to Question 164762, what the annual budget is for food produced for his Department’s offices; and what proportion of food produced for his Department was sourced from British producers in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Dunne

The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

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, what cost was incurred by her Department as a result of the withdrawal of the CAP-D programme in March 2015.

George Eustice

CAP-D is a 10 year programme designed to enable the Department to implement the most recent CAP reforms. The programme was not withdrawn in March 2015. There had been some performance issues with the online interface that enables farmers to input data directly, but the core of the new Rural Payments system is working well. Over 88,000 farmers and agents have successfully registered on the system.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of dairy products procured for his Department was sourced from British producers in the last period for which figures are available.

Jane Ellison

Details of dairy products procured for use in in the Department’s catering contract and sourced from British producers for the last reporting period, January to March 2016, are as follows:

Dairy sub-category	Total spend	British Spend
Butter	£297.30	£0.00	0%
Cheese	£4,244.55	£2,547.61	60%
Cream	£184.59	£184.59	100%
Milk	£7,148.74	£7,148.74	100%
Yoghurt	£1,997.24	£1,997.24	100%

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what proportion of dairy products procured for his Department was sourced from British producers in the latest period for which figures are available.

Guto Bebb

The Wales Office does not procure any dairy products.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 15 July 2013 to Question 164762, what the annual budget is for food produced for the armed forces; and what proportion of food produced for the armed forces was sourced from British producers in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Dunne

The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

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