Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2023 on Armed Forces: Catering, which new contracts will begin to provide catering services for Armed Forces personnel in 2026.
Answer
The new Defence Catering Strategy is currently being developed. The Strategy aims to deliver improvements across four areas: the food that our people eat; the times and ways in which food is available to our people; the physical spaces in which our people eat (and which therefore contribute to team building); and the ways in which technology can facilitate selection, ordering, collection and availability of food.
From January to May 2024, we will be focused on changing the food that is on offer: to improve choice, to address the range of nutritional and calorific needs, and to provide consistent quality. When the detailed plan has been finalised, we will communicate that to our people first, and then more widely. Concurrently we are looking at changes to the contracts relevant to the four areas of the Strategy by 2026. We are in the early stages of addressing those contracts so cannot be more specific at this point. Elements of the Defence Catering Strategy will be implemented beyond 2026 on the basis of prioritisation, funding, and continuous improvement.