Following the decision to retender for the local milk contract for the county, Labour candidate Catherine Fookes said, "I’m very pleased that MCC has now committed to re-tendering the milk contract. The Conservatives took us into the consortium procurement arrangement with Caerphilly Council in 2018. I can understand that for some goods and services, it is worth going in together to get better deals.

But for food and produce, we need to try to use as many local producers as possible, so it makes complete sense to remove them from this joint arrangement so that local suppliers can have a chance.

When I worked at the Wye Valley AONB 20 years ago, I chaired the Appetite for Life Working Group, and we aimed to source school meals from the wider AONB and Monmouthshire.

It makes sense for the environment and our local economy too, so I look forward to local companies being able to tender for the new milk contract."