Percentages of (a) meat, (b) fruit and (c) vegetables used by the Ministry of Justice that were produced in the UK are shown in the following table.
Category Ministry of Justice (excluding Her Majesty's Prison Service) Public sector prisons Private sector prisons (a) Meat Poultry 86 29 44 Beef and Veal 72 13 31 Mutton and Lamb 52 50 1 Bacon 14 0 68 Pork 65 23 50 (b) Fruit Orchard Fall—Apples, pears and plums 42 0 44 Soft fruit—Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blackcurrants. 41 0 12 (c) Vegetables Ware potatoes—whole, unprepared 93 98 52 Processed potatoes—whole and cut 79 65 67 Roots and Onions—carrots, parsnips, onions, turnips and Swedes 83 46 82 Brassicas—Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower 73 77 49 Legumes—beans and peas 84 31 32 Protected vegetables—tomatoes, cucumbers, salad, celery, sweet peppers 45 41 44 Other vegetables —asparagus, leeks and watercress 49 21 55 Overall indigenous food by value n/a 61 n/a Overall indigenous food by volume 67 49 56
This most recent information is contained in a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs report for 2007-08 detailing the proportion of food grown or reared in the UK used by Whitehall departments, including that supplied to Ministry of Justice including public sector prisons in England and Wales under contracts negotiated by HM Prison Service, now part of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS).
A copy of this report was placed in the House of Commons Library and can also be obtained at the following web link:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/sustain/procurement/pdf/psfpi-datareport081125.pdf
These figures, compared to last year, show a growing trend in favour of domestically produced food used within the Ministry of Justice.