3. Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Procurement Update

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:21 pm on 25 January 2022.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 3:21, 25 January 2022

Thank you, and I'm smiling at the 'bite-sized chunks'; I thought that was a great way to describe making lots for food contracts smaller. So, that was lovely. Yes, I just want to reassure you that we are very much working with a range of stakeholders to understand the requirements and the opportunities, now, which have been provided by the co-operation agreement measure in respect of free school meals for all children. I think that there is significant opportunity there. And then we're also working with Caerphilly council, who lead the Welsh public sector food frameworks programme, which I know you're familiar with, and also working with Castell Howell and other wholesalers to seek to increase the supply of Welsh food into the public sector through the frameworks. It is ongoing, and it does need to be planned, of course, into the Welsh suppliers' production and supply arrangements. So, it's that point, really, about farmers being able to produce what the market wants them to produce. So, those discussions have to happen too. And Caerphilly council has established a food group through the WLGA, and that's to plan the approach and structure for the next food tenders, which are due in 2023, so another opportunity and a key milestone coming up there, I think. The aim of that work is to maximise the opportunities for small food producers and to increase the amount of Welsh produce that is going through the framework. So, that's going on ahead of 2023, which I think is key.

We're also doing some important work with Monmouthshire council to develop hyperlocal understandings of grower and supplier capability within that council, and that's going to be important work then to help us improve the resilience of local supply chains there, and we've also now funded that work to be scaled up to cover the whole of Gwent. So, again, another important project that we can learn from.

One interesting thing I've discovered in preparation for today was that poultry shortages have hampered our efforts to increase the supply of Welsh poultry, and we found, actually, that local poultry suppliers have greater value on the existing private sector supply chains and that they're less keen to engage with new public sector businesses, because the supply chains that they have with the private sector are working just fine, it appears, at the moment. So, we need to find a way for our offer to be attractive and consistent to producers in Wales. And we do hope that a Welsh public sector poultry line can be developed in 2022-23. So, that's a specific gap in the market, as it were, that we've identified. And then, just finally, we're funding innovative NHS and local authority food procurement projects to increase local supply, and that learning will be shared across Wales.