Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what food and drink wholesale companies were consulted by the Government ahead of the publication of the Buying Better Food Agreement PIN.

The tender for the proposed Buying Better Food Agreement has not yet been published. Invitations to Tender are expected in Summer 2023, with the contract going live in Spring 2024.

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) have followed the public sector regulations by issuing a PIN notice, which is published on the government Find a Tender Service, used for all public sector opportunities. This notified the market of our intentions, and invited willing participants to engage with us.

As a result of this, a cross-section of the food and drink supply chain has been engaged and consulted through CCS’ ongoing market engagement process. These include micro SME producers to Tier 1 national providers.