To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by his Department on (a) food and (b) food of British origin in each of the last five years. (214881)

The Department for International Development (DFID) has budgeted to spend £279,000 on food through our catering contracts for our two UK offices in the current year. Information on the breakdown of food based on country of origin is not collated, and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost. Information for previous years is not available as DFID changed its catering contractors at the beginning of 2008.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development from which five countries of origin the greatest amount of food was procured by his Department in the last year for which figures are available; and what the (a) cost and (b) quantity procured was in each case. (214882)

The Department for International Development is unable to answer this question as we do not require our catering contractors to maintain records of the country of origin of food procured, and to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.