Public Bodies (Sustainable Food) Bill

House of Commons

Session 2010 - 11
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Other Bills before Parliament

Public Bodies (Sustainable Food) Bill

Public Bodies (Sustainable Food) Bill

Contents

1

Code for sustainable food

2

Adoption of the Code

3

Reports on progress

4

The Code objectives

5

Financial provisions

6

Interpretation

7

Short title, commencement and extent

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Public Bodies (Sustainable Food) Bill

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A

Bill

To

Make provision for the creation of a Code regarding the procurement of

sustainable food by public bodies; for the review and development of the

Code; for the regulatory enforcement of the Code by public bodies; and for

connected purposes.

Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and

consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present

Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1

Code for sustainable food

(1)

The Secretary of State has a duty to ensure that, not later than 12 months after

this Act comes into force, representatives from government, industry,

professional bodies and relevant sectors prepare a Code for Sustainable Food

(“the Code”) to promote the procurement of healthy and sustainable food by

5

public bodies in accordance with the Code’s objectives.

(2)

The Code must—

(a)

contain guidance on what constitutes—

(i)

healthy food; and

(ii)

sustainable food;

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(b)

set minimum procurement standards to achieve the Code’s objectives,

to be met by public bodies on a voluntary basis, subject to the

provisions of section 2; and

(c)

relate to the promotion of the objectives in section 4.

(3)

The Secretary of State must approve and publish the Code.

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(4)

The Secretary of State must keep the Code under review and may revise it

when the Secretary of State considers it appropriate to do so.

2

Adoption of the Code

(1)

The Secretary of State must take such steps as the Secretary of State considers

appropriate to promote and encourage the widespread voluntary adoption of

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the Code by public bodies.

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Public Bodies (Sustainable Food) Bill

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(2)

If a local authority receives a relevant petition requesting that the Code be

adopted by public bodies operating within that local authority’s area the

Secretary of State must make regulations bringing this obligation into effect.

(3)

In order to be a relevant petition a petition must—

(a)

have been signed by at least 10% of the local government electors

5

residing within that local authority’s area;

(b)

be received by the local authority before the end of the six month period

beginning with the date on which a notice of intent to petition is

received by the local authority’s electoral registration officer.

(4)

The giving of notice of intent to petition and the submission of a petition must

10

be conducted in accordance with rules made by the Secretary of State by

statutory instrument.

(5)

If the Secretary of State considers that adoption of the Code is not sufficiently

widespread, or the rate of its adoption is too slow, the Secretary of State may

require that certain or all public bodies adopt the Code, within specified

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periods of time, in regulations made by statutory instrument.

(6)

Rules and regulations made under this section shall be subject to annulment in

pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

3

Reports on progress

The Secretary of State must publish an annual report on—

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(a)

the extent to which the Code has been adopted by public bodies,

including the specific, accountable and measurable contributions made

by the adoption of the Code to achieving the Code objectives;

(b)

the actions that the Secretary of State proposes to take to further

promote, encourage, or require widespread adoption of the Code by

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public bodies.

4

The Code objectives

The Code must relate to the promotion of the following objectives—

(a)

reducing diet-related ill health by reducing the consumption of food

which is shown by medical evidence to contribute to, or increase the

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risk of, ill health, and promoting the consumption of food which

supports the health and well-being of consumers;

(b)

reducing the greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants associated

with all stages of the food chain, including food production,

manufacturing, processing, cooking, consumption and waste

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management and disposal, and promoting products and processes

which result in lower greenhouse gas emissions;

(c)

promoting biodiversity by promoting food products and production

methods which conserve or enhance biodiversity, and by discouraging

food production methods which damage or endanger stocks, species or

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ecosystems;

(d)

promoting animal welfare by promoting food products and production

methods which support high standards of animal welfare;

(e)

promoting fair trading standards by supporting fair terms of trade,

good working conditions, and prompt payment for food producers and

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for suppliers providing goods and services to public bodies;

Public Bodies (Sustainable Food) Bill

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(f)

reducing food waste by supporting food products, production methods

and management methods which result in reduced waste and which

divert unavoidable waste to composting, energy recovery or recycling;

and

(g)

promoting sustainable development in food and farming.

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5

Financial provisions

There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament—

(a)

any expenditure of the Secretary of State in consequence of this Act; and

(b)

any increase attributable to this Act in the sums payable out of money so

provided by virtue of any other Act.

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6

Interpretation

In this Act—

“the Code objectives” means the objectives set out in section 4;

“industry” means any company, or body representing the interests of

companies, whose functions are connected to the supply of food or

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related services in, or for consumption in, England;

“professional bodies” means non-profit organisations that represent the

interests of their members, and whose functions are connected to the

health, social, animal welfare or environmental impacts resulting from

the supply of food or related services in, or for consumption in,

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England;

“relevant sectors” means other bodies, including those within the

voluntary sector, which represent the interests of—

(a)

consumers of food served in public bodies, and

(b)

sustainable development;

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“consumer” means any person who consumes food purchased or

provided by a public body;

“food” means any article or substance used for human consumption,

including drink, and articles and substances used as ingredients in the

preparation of food;

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“public body” means any organisation, classified by the Office of National

Statistics’ UK National Accounts Sector and Transaction Classification

as a “public sector non-market entity”, whose functions include the

procurement of food in, or for consumption in, England.

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Short title, commencement and extent

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(1)

This Act may be cited as the Public Bodies (Sustainable Food) Act 2011.

(2)

This Act comes into force at the end of the period of 3 months beginning with

the day on which it is passed.

(3)

This Act extends to England and Wales.