Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the government transparency data, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts, Data for October to December 2025 for all departments, published on 31 March 2026, for what reasons the Food Standards Agency contract for the Delivery of Official Controls in Approved Establishments in England and Wales with Eville and Jones requires the supplier to ensure that at least 2% of companywide headcount progresses through internal opportunities.

People and resourcing are central to the successful delivery of the Food Standards Agency Delivered Official Controls contracts and the social value targets for these contracts are:

• recruitment and retention of Supplier Personnel in the Delivery of Meat Official Controls on behalf of the Food Standards Agency (FSA);
• promotion of an inclusive working environment that supports retention; and
• company culture that supports progression of Supplier Personnel.

The purpose of these targets is to support the objective of lower attrition and higher experience levels of the workforce delivering these controls, ultimately improving the service that the FSA delivers for the public.