UPDATE: We won! On 16th June 2011, Government agreed to serve only sustainable fish in its catering for Number 10, Whitehall, Government Departments, prisons and some parts of the armed forces. Read the press release here. This page serves as an archive of just one of the many campaign activities we undertook to persuade Government to change its mind.
On 17 March 2011, charity workers from Sustain (that's us on the right!) sent 29 cheques for 83p each to the Prime Minister and every member of the Coalition Government’s Cabinet (which contains 22 millionaires). You can read our press release which was issued on the day by clicking here.
Under current Government proposals 4 out of every 10 fish eaten in those parts of the public sector that are controlled by Whitehall - which includes the fish served at all Cabinet meetings and functions - will be EXCLUDED from compulsory sustainability standards. This is far lower than industry good practice and worse than fish standards for McDonald's and even David Cameron's own cat!
The Government calculates that extending compulsory sustainability standards to all fish bought by Whitehall - and therefore to all the fish eaten by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet - would cost 83p 'per head per year'. This weak excuse prompted Charity workers at Sustain to pay the Prime Minister, and every member of his Cabinet, for this important upgrade to the fish which is served to them at their meetings and functions.
With pressure building on the Government, there is now only days to go until Food Minister Jim Paice MP decides whether to change these proposals so that sustainability standards extend to all fish bought by Whitehall. The Good Food for Our Money Campaign has made it simple for people to write to Jim Paice to demand that he makes this change. Take action here!
Below, we show you the personal cheques made out by charity workers and sent to each Cabinet member, including Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. We'll update this page to show you what responses we receive!
NOTE: Several of the responses we have received are very short, simply referring back to a previous response we received from Defra to an original enquiry in March 2011. Click here to read the original Defra response of 15 March 2011, or read the following extract: Defra's original letter of 15 March stated that, for Defra, "the sourcing of fish from sustainable sources is a very important issue", and that they were "looking to ensure that the final Government Buying Standard for fish delivers real benefits and sets an example for the wider public sector to follow". However, an "external review" was then in progress, so Defra would not be drawn on what their new fish buying standard would be. At the time of this letter, Defra had published a "preferred option" for their buying policy of only 60% sustainable seafood, which is the average already achieved by government departments (i.e. not much of an example for others to follow!). Effectively, this would mean that 40% of seafood bought by government could still come from unsustainably managed stocks and damaging fish methods. With the backing of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Fish Fight campaign, Marine Conservation Society and the Environmental Justice Foundation, we told Defra that we think this is "wholly unacceptable".
Danny Alexander MP
Vincent Cable MP
Business Secretary Vince Cable's cheque was returned on 12 May 2011 in an envelope containing 5 cheques in total (made out to: Vince Cable, David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Eric Pickles and David Willetts). The brief cover letter, dated 12 May 2011 referred us to a previous letter from Defra to Sustain and the Good Food for Our Money campaign. Click here to read the original Defra response of 15 March 2011.
David Cameron MP, Prime Minister
Prime Minister David Cameron MP's office sent a note of acknowledgement, dated 11 April 2011. It did not contain any response to the letter, nor any commitment to serve sustainable fish.
Prime Minster David Cameron's cheque was returned on 12 May 2011 in an envelope containing 5 cheques in total (made out to: Vince Cable, David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Eric Pickles and David Willetts). The brief cover letter, dated 12 May 2011 (click on the fish to view the letter) referred us to a previous letter from Defra to Sustain and the Good Food for Our Money campaign. Click here to read the original Defra response of 15 March 2011.
Kenneth Clarke QC MP
Nick Clegg MP, Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg's cheque was returned on 12 May 2011 in an envelope containing 5 cheques in total (made out to: Vince Cable, David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Eric Pickles and David Willetts). The brief cover letter, dated 12 May 2011 (click on the fish to view the letter) referred us to a previous letter from Defra to Sustain and the Good Food for Our Money campaign. Click here to read the original Defra response of 15 March 2011.
Iain Duncan Smith MP
Dr Liam Fox MP
Cheryl Gillan MP
In a letter dated 11 May 2011, Secretary of State for Wales Cheryl Gillan MP responded to our letter, and returned our cheque for 83p, stating that "The Government recognises that the status of world fish stocks and marine ecosystems are of significant public concern." Click on the fish to read Cheryl Gillian's response. The letter referred us back to Defra, as the department which has the responsibility for these matters in England, including procurement in the public sector. Of course, we have written to Defra repeatedly on this issue, but have as yet received no satisfactory response.
Michael Gove MP
Michael Gove's Deprtment for Education responded on 23 March 2011 by returning the cheque with a compliments slip, but no comment. Click on the fish to see the compliments slip.
Dominic Grieve MP
Dominic Grieve's Correspondence Unit at the Attorney General's Office responded on 18 March 2011 by returning the cheque with a short letter to tell us that our "comments are noted". Click on the fish to see the letter.
William Hague MP
Foreign Secretary William Hague's cheque was returned with a brief cover letter, dated 20 May 2011 (click on the fish to view the letter). It referred us to a previous letter from Defra to Sustain and the Good Food for Our Money campaign. Click here to read the original Defra response of 15 March 2011.
Philip Hammond MP
Chris Huhne MP
Jeremy Hunt MP
Andrew Lansley CBE MP
Oliver Letwin MP
Francis Maude MP
Francis Maude's cheque was returned to us by Defra, along with the cheque made out to Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for Defra. The brief cover letter, dated 28 March 2011 referred us to a previous letter from Defra to Sustain and the Good Food for Our Money campaign, dated 15 March 2011. Click on the fish above to see the response to the cheques, and click here to read the original Defra response of 15 March 2011.
Theresa May MP
Patrick McLoughlin MP
Andrew Mitchell MP
Michael Moore MP
George Osborne MP
Owen Paterson MP
Eric Pickles MP
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles' cheque was returned on 12 May 2011 in an envelope containing 5 cheques in total (made out to: Vince Cable, David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Eric Pickles and David Willetts). The brief cover letter, dated 12 May 2011 (click on the fish to view the letter) referred us to a previous letter from Defra to Sustain and the Good Food for Our Money campaign. Click here to read the original Defra response of 15 March 2011.
Caroline Spelman MP
Caroline Spelman responded on 28 March 2011, with a letter that returned the cheque addressed to her, and also containing the cheque addressed to Francis Maude. The brief cover letter referred us to a previous letter from Defra to Sustain and the Good Food for Our Money campaign, dated 15 March 2011. Click on the fish above to see the response to the cheques, and click here to read the original Defra response of 15 March 2011.
Lord Strathclyde
Baroness Warsi
The cheque sent to Baroness Warsi was returned by Defra with a cover letter simply referring us to "previous letters". Click here to read the original Defra response of 15 March 2011.
David Willetts MP
Minister of State for Universities and Science, David Willetts' cheque was returned on 12 May 2011 in an envelope containing 5 cheques in total (made out to: Vince Cable, David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Eric Pickles and David Willetts). The brief cover letter, dated 12 May 2011 (click on the fish to view the letter) referred us to a previous letter from Defra to Sustain and the Good Food for Our Money campaign. Click here to read the original Defra response of 15 March 2011.
Sir George Young MP
Updated 17 May, 2011
Registered charity (no.