The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed that Minister of State Victoria Prentis will be delivering a keynote address to the PSC Expo, which takes place at the NEC in Birmingham from15-16 March.

Prentis (pictured) will tackle the issue of Government Buying Standards when she speaks to the Expo via Zoom on the morning of Tuesday, 15 March.

She will be outlining particular areas ripe for revision, such as encouraging the public sector to buy more British food to support growers and farmers in the UK and reduce the sector’s carbon footprint through the use of more sustainable produce.

Prentis will be encouraging the associations – LACA, TUCO, HCA, NACC, PACE, as well as catering leaders working in prisons and the military – to participate in the consultation.

Defra believes there will be a lot in the consultation that is very relevant for all the public sector catering associations, and it wants to make sure it ‘captures their views and provokes discussion’.

Later that day at 2pm LACA will host their free to attend Spring Seminar. You can register for a free ticket to the Public Sector Catering Expo here.

The Spring Seminar will include a presentation from Shadow Schools Minister Stephen Morgan MP, Bethan Cowell from the National Farmers Union (NFU) will discuss their education programme and we will hear an update on the School Working Group set up by Love British Food and LACA.