Stevenson Urges Government Departments to "Shop Local" in Parliament Debate

Banff & Buchan SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson has urged the Scottish Executive to ensure that public bodies “shop local” as far as possible in the purchasing of its food supplies for hospitals, prisons and schools.

Mr Stevenson believes that such a policy would bring benefits to the local economy, ensure fresher produce was used and cut down on transport costs.

Speaking during the debate, Mr Stevenson said:

“We have to use our procurement system in a constructive way to deliver on our objectives, but the NHS is but one strand of the considerable public procurement budget. I understand that food for patients currently costs about £55 million a year. If we extend that, it becomes an extremely substantial figure.

“We want to aspire to higher standards of welfare and production; in many ways, our standards are higher than those of other countries in the European Union and they are much higher than those of countries further afield. That is particularly the case with regard to pigs: the cost of pig-meat production in Scotland is higher than it is elsewhere because our welfare requirements are higher. At present, procurement practice discriminates against buying that higher quality food.

“Local production means local employment, which is often not taken into account in relation to tenders. Of course, local employment means more money circulating in local areas. If we procure food locally, we reduce food miles and we reduce pointless consumption of fuel.

“I have to commend the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as having a policy substantially in advance of that which exists, at this point, in Scotland. Procurement in the NHS in Scotland concentrates on procurement departments and procedures. In England, however, DEFRA has launched a sustainable food procurement initiative that includes five priority objectives: to raise production and processing standards; to increase tenders from small and local producers; to increase consumption of healthy and nutritious food; to reduce adverse environmental impacts of production and supply; and to increase the capacity of small and local suppliers to meet demand. That is what we are after in Scotland.

“DEFRA has also addressed the difficult issue of how that interacts with European Union procurement policy and have solved the problem by referring to standard schemes. The point is made—in relation to the EU's procurement rules—that we are permitted to specify delivery frequencies, freshness and taste as criteria that might give local suppliers a competitive advantage provided that a foreign supplier is not denied the opportunity to compete on equal terms by setting up here. That is quite legitimate.

“I commend the DEFRA guidelines to the Executive. If it lifted them and copied them, we would probably be happy. Only a word or two would have to be changed.”

Stewart Stevenson has previously tabled a Motion in the Scottish Parliament on local procurement which has the support of MSPs from 7 political parties. The text of that Motion is as follows:

S2M-335# Mr Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (Scottish National Party) : Local Sourcing by Public Bodies— That the Parliament considers that the Scottish Executive should take steps to ensure that public bodies such as the NHS, the Scottish Prison Service, local authorities and educational establishments source their foodstuffs, as far as possible, from local sources and suppliers; further considers that the Executive should put in place a programme to offer assistance to public bodies in achieving this aim, and believes that in so doing benefit will accrue to Scotland's farmers, growers, food processors and producers, and also to the Scottish economy.