An MP is pushing local authorities and councils to better support British farmers by closing a public food procurement loophole.
Currently when buying food, public organisations do not need to source from local producers if it will lead to significantly increased costs.
Dr Neil Hudson, who is MP for Penrith and The Border, said in parliament this week that authorities should back British farmers by closing this loophole.
He said they must do more to "maintain the UK's role as a beacon of best practice to the rest of the world".
The public sector, which includes schools and hospitals, purchases around £2.6 billion of food every year.
But Dr Hudson, as well as food and farming campaigners, say that while many public institutions support local businesses, they believe more can be done.
In 2021, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee, on which Dr Hudson sits, published a report on public sector procurement of food.
Recommendations included that the the government buying standards for food and catering services (GBSF), which dictates UK food procurement, should be updated in relation to nutrition, animal welfare, sustainability and local food procurement.
The EFRA committee's report also called for the GBSF body to be mandatory across the public sector.
Speaking after his speech in parliament, Dr Hudson said: "We cannot abandon our world-class animal welfare and food production standards purely because it is cheaper to do so.
"It deeply troubles me that our incredible local farmers are overlooked by public bodies in favour of poor-quality foreign food and we as a nation demand better.
"I look forward to pressing ahead on this issue and was encouraged by the minister's response to me."
