To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much surplus food was thrown away by his Department in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Since 1998 the Department for Work and Pensions has occupied the majority of its accommodation under a private finance initiative (PFI) known as the PRIME Contract. Under the terms of this PFI the Department lease back fully serviced accommodation from its private sector partner Telereal Trillium which includes the provision of all catering services through their service partner, Compass Group.

The latest figures available from Telereal Trillium relate to 2008-09 and 2009-10, and include waste from the preparation of food, waste from service counters and customer plate waste. The figures are estimates. (Figures for 2010-11 and 2011-12 will not be available until 31 March 2013).

It is worth noting that there was an increase in counter sales for 2009-10 of 6%, compared with the same period in 2008-09. This may account in part for the increased food waste figures in that year.