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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make Government buying standards for public procurement mandatory across the whole of the public sector.

The use of the Balanced Scorecard approach becomes mandatory for central government departments and their agencies as existing contracts are renewed.

Its use is also highly recommended for other public sector bodies, but cannot be mandated because responsibility for procurement decisions is delegated to local level.