Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether public procurement processes require caterers to meet the needs of those whose diets are (a) vegetarian (b) vegan and (c) gluten free.

The Plan for Public Procurement through the Balanced Scorecard helps contracting parties to balance a range of criteria including provenance, seasonality, production standards, and cost. The Plan does not mandate any specific diets, but has the flexibility to allow contracting parties to cater for any type of diet.