Hansard

Fish

Volume 479: debated on Monday 29 September 2008

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Mr. Peter Ainsworth

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much fish was procured by his Department and at what cost in each of the last five years, broken down by species; and what amount and value of such fish met the Marine Stewardship Council standard in each such year, broken down by species. (217888)

Mrs. McGuire

The Department’s expenditure on fish by species and the value of fish that met the Marine Stewardship Council Standard (MSCS) for the two years, 2006 and 2007, is provided in the following table.

£000

Species of fish

2006

2007

Salmon

9

11

Prawn1

11

13

Tuna

2

2

Total

22

26

Value of fish that met the MSCS

7

8

1 Financial figures have been included for prawns because although it is recognised that they are crustaceans and not fish, prawns are included as a species in the MSCS.

Information prior to 2006 and about the actual quantity of fish purchased, and the quantity of each species that met the MSCS, is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Additionally, the details of expenditure on fish is solely that required to provide hospitality for meetings and does not reflect local expenditure on food, as that information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.