Hospitals, schools and prisons are to be urged to buy more British food, as part of a government push to heal a rift with farmers over changes to inheritance tax, the Guardian understands.
The environment secretary, Steve Reed, will tell the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) annual conference on Tuesday that the public sector is to be set a target of sourcing at least half of all food from farms with the highest welfare standards, which should benefit British growers and food producers.
Reed has previously said that £5bn is spent each year on public sector catering contracts, and an overhaul of public procurement rules would mean that domestic produce would be prioritised over cheaper imports from abroad.
The reforms also fulfil Labour’s manifesto commitment of ensuring that half of food purchased across the public sector should be “locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards”.
Reed’s announcement comes amid the government’s efforts to reset relations with food producers and growers after the announcement in October’s budget that agricultural properties would be liable for inheritance tax, sparking large-scale protests by farmers.
An NFU spokesperson said: “Labour’s manifesto commitment to sourcing 50% of food in the public sector from the UK was welcome and NFU members at our conference next week will be pleased to hear how ministers intend to deliver on it. Given the numerous pressures being loaded on to UK farming this will be a welcome positive.”
Reed will hope to receive a warmer reception at Tuesday’s NFU conference than in January, when his speech to delegates at the Oxford Farming Conference was punctuated by the blasts of tractor horns parked outside the venue by protestes.
At the time, Reed said the government would start to monitor the origin of food bought by the public sector as part of efforts to help farmers get a “fairer share” of catering contracts.
Relations between the government and the farming community have soured further in recent days, after the NFU and other agricultural organisations reacted with “fury” when the Treasury dismissed their proposals aimed at softening the impact of the inheritance tax changes on farmers.
Farming groups had suggested to ministers the use of a “clawback” mechanism, which would mean that those inheriting a farming business would be eligible for paying inheritance tax only if they decided to sell the business within a specific timeframe. They argued this would still raise revenue for the government, but would protect family farms from paying the tax.
