Reshaping Public Procurement

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 3:18 pm on 23 September 2020.

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Photo of Jenny Rathbone Jenny Rathbone Labour 3:18, 23 September 2020

Thank you for that answer, Minister. I just want to address the threat that is posed to food security, given the rising possibility of no trade deal with the European Union. As Professor Tim Lang, the food expert, said again today, we are a nation without a food larder. And that statement applies just as much to Wales as to the rest of the UK, with supermarkets operating on a just-in-time basis and huge numbers of families relying on surplus food from food banks. So, lorries parked up at new frontier crossings and the inevitable high prices can but aggravate this fragile food supply chain that we already have. We could and should, in my view, already be strengthening the foundational economy by substituting everyday temperate fruit and veg that we currently import with home-grown produce. So, in light of the work that the Welsh Government has done to streamline procurement frameworks, what consideration have you given to using green procurement deals, particularly in partnership with local government, as highlighted in the recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report as being effective mechanisms used by other European countries to mitigate this threat to our food security?