Local Authorities as Employers
Local government employs over two million people – one of the largest employers in the UK – with staff who provide services to local communities.
Many will provide places where staff can purchase food and therefore offer direct opportunities to provide safe, sustainable and healthy food. Many authorities will also provide food for meetings or events that the local authority hosts and the same opportunities arise. Similarly, local authorities provide food to some of the most vulnerable groups of people in the community such as schools, nurseries and care homes. Providing safe, sustainable and nutritious food and promoting healthy eating and well- being messages in these settings will be part of an authority’s community responsibility.
The Government has calculated that the public sector in England, which includes local authorities, spends £1.8 billion on food and catering services each year. It wants the sector to use this buying power to help deliver various objectives, including increasing consumption of healthy and nutritious food, and increasing the contribution of local suppliers. The Government launched its Sustainable Food Procurement Initiative and has provided guidelines to assist the public sector, including local authorities, in its procurement of food using sustainable development objectives. In both provision and procurement, local authorities should consider how they have regard to emerging expert advice on healthy eating. The views of the Food Standards Agency and Department of Health need to be properly taken into account in local food initiatives.