Asked by: Lord Cryer (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) nature and (b) value was of all (i) contracts, (ii) consultancies and (iii) other services placed with the accountancy firms (A) Deloitte & Touche, (B) Ernst & Young, (C) KPMG and (D) PricewaterhouseCoopers in each year since 2010-11 by (1) their Department, (2) any predecessor Departments and (3) departmental agencies.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Details of Government contracts from 2016 above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.
<br/>Details of Core Defra contracts (which include its agencies) from 2010 to 2016 awarded to Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers can be found in the attached spreadsheet.
Asked by: Lord Cryer (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with major supermarkets on covid-19 and on specific opening hours for (a) over 70s, (b) parents of children with severe asthma, (c) cystic fibrosis and (d) other vulnerable groups.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
We are working closely across Government, with representatives of the food supply chain and with local authorities and charities to ensure that everyone including the elderly and vulnerable groups such as those with severe health conditions will have continued access to food.
We are in close contact with representatives across the food supply chain and civil society to discuss further ways to help with their preparations. Supermarkets are recruiting more staff, prioritising delivery slots for those who need them most, and limiting shopping hours so they have more time to restock. They are working hard to deliver a crucial service to us all and have also issued a rallying call for everyone to play their part in the national effort to this response by looking out for their friends, family and neighbours. We will continue to work with industry to discuss any additional support the Government can provide. Retailers are prioritising delivery slots for those who need them most.
The Government is working to ensure that up to 1.5 million people in England identified by the NHS as being at higher risk of severe illness if they contract Coronavirus will have access to the food they need. A new Local Support System will make sure those individuals self-isolating at home and who are without a support network of friends and family will receive basic groceries. The Government is working with a partnership of the groceries industry, local government, local resilience forums and emergency partners, and voluntary groups, to ensure that essential items can start to be delivered as soon as possible to those who need it.
Asked by: Lord Cryer (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with major supermarkets on limiting or rationing items during the outbreak of covid-19.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Government has well-established ways of working with the food industry during disruption to supply situations. Our retailers already have highly resilient supply chains and they are working around the clock to ensure people have the food and products they need. Industry is adapting quickly to any changes in demands, and food supply into and across the UK is resilient.
The Secretary of State is in regular dialogue with industry, including the British Retail Consortium and supermarket chief executives to discuss any additional support the Government can provide. To help supermarkets respond to this unprecedented demand we have already introduced new measures to keep food supply flowing. We have issued guidance to local authorities to allow extended delivery hours to supermarkets so that shelves can be filled up quicker, and we have implemented extensions to drivers’ hours.
We fully recognise the additional pressures on our food supply chain as a result of recent events. The UK’s major supermarkets have last weekend issued a statement to encourage everyone to shop as they normally would and pull together to support those staying at home.
We will continue to work closely with the industry over the coming days and months.