Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of his Department's spend on day-to-day goods has comprised fair trade products in each of the last eight years.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra’s finance system does not record whether a supplier provides fair trade products. To ascertain whether such products have been provided would require the manual examination of thousands of transactions. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what proportion of his Department's spend on day-to-day goods has comprised fair trade products since it was established.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Department for Exiting the European Union is fully committed to ethical procurement, but does not hold information at the level of detail required to answer the Question.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of her Department's spend on day-to-day goods has comprised fair trade products in each of the last eight years.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID has contracted Interserve Facilities Management to deliver catering facilities to our UK buildings with effect from 01 October 2016. We do not hold any data relevant to your request prior to this date. For the period from 01/10/16 to date we hold the following information:
DFID’s spend on catering products for this period was £427,396. The proportion of this spent on Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance Products was £35,074 or 8.2%
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of her Department's spend on day-to-day goods has comprised fair trade products in each of the last eight years.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Information on what proportion of the Department's spend on day-to-day goods has comprised fair trade products in each of the last eight years is not held on the Department’s e-procurement system.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what proportion of his Department's spend on day-to-day goods comprised fair trade products in each of the last eight years.
Answered by David Mundell
The Scotland Office does not have canteen facilities. The only expenditure on food is purchases for occasional events and receptions. The Scotland Office does not keep separate records of the spending on fair trade products. Spending on food follows Government policy on sustainability and Fair Trade.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of his Department's spend on day-to-day goods has comprised fair trade products in each of the last eight years.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department does not hold information where day-to-day goods spend comprises a breakdown of fair trade products. This information could only be obtained by reviewing every contract through which day-to-day goods have been supplied, in each of the last eight years. To do this would incur disproportionate time and cost.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of his Department's spend on day-to-day goods comprised fair trade products in each of the last eight years.
Answered by Guto Bebb
The proportion of the Ministry of Defence's spend on day-to-day goods comprised of fair trade products is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question
To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what plans Parliament has to recognise Fair Trade Fortnight.
Answered by Tom Brake
The Houses of Parliament have for many years recognised and supported Fair Trade Fortnight. Catering customers are made aware of Fair Trade Fortnight through promotional screens and posters in the catering venues. In addition, members of the Catering Team speak to interested customers at their tables about the Fair Trade organisation during the fortnight.
The House Service sources products that meet UK or equivalent standards of production, and considers purchasing Fairly Traded products where there is a competitive market. Since 1997, all coffee sold in catering outlets has been Fairtrade. Fairtrade products, including a variety of popular drinks and snacks labelled with the Fairtrade mark, are also sold by Catering Services in Parliament. Additionally, Parliament’s bottled water supplier is a social enterprise that donates proceeds to Water Aid.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what representations he has received from the Fairtrade Foundation on the effect on the UK's Sustainable Development Goals of the provisions in his Department's Trade Bill, published in November 2017; and what assessment he has made of that effect.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials at the Department of International Trade (DIT) regularly meet with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Fairtrade Foundation.
The UK is a leading voice in support of free trade as a tool for economic development and a proud advocate of helping developing countries trade their way out of poverty. That is why DIT and the Department for International Development (DFID) are working together to ensure development and global prosperity are at the heart of UK trade and investment policy.
We have pledged to support the world’s poorest countries access UK markets once we leave the EU, to help fulfil our commitment to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals, both at home and around the world.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans she has to increase awareness of the Fairtrade Mark.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The UK Government is a long-term partner of the Fairtrade movement, which plays a crucial role in helping producers around the world improve their lives. DFID is currently supporting the pilot of Fairtrace, a supply chain mapping programme run with Fairtrade’s supply chain assurance partner. This work will help Fairtrade continue to ensure that farmers receive fair prices for their products, that workers receive better wages, and that agricultural practices are more sustainable.