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Schools

Answer

The recommendations of the School Meals Review Panel are made in their report—Turning the Tables: Transforming School Food.A public consultation on the Panel's recommendations to improve the nutritional standards of school meals was launched on 3 October 2005. The consultation period runs until 31 December 2005 and responses to the recommendations will be considered after this date.The final version of the standards will begin to come into force from September 2006.Alongside the publication of the report, the Government launched a national audit of school food provision in order to assess the progress that is already being made by local authorities and schools. The national audit, which began on 17 October, will cover issues such as how much is being spent on school meals ingredients, how they are provided, whether children get hot or cold meals and the percentage of pupils currently buying school meals.The Government are also investing £220 million over three years to help schools and local education authorities transform school meals through training and increased hours for cooks, equipment and a minimum spend on ingredients.Some £30 million for this year has already been allocated to local authorities—with a further £100 million over the following two years. £30 million was granted direct to schools as part of their Standards Fund allocations, with a further £60 million over the following two years.New or upgraded school kitchen facilities where fresh produce can be prepared and served will be made a priority as Government rebuilds and refurbishes every secondary school through its Building Schools for the Future programme. £5.5 billion is being spent in 2005–06 rising to £6.3 billion in 2007–08 to improve school buildings. An extra £650 million capital for primary schools were announced in the last Spending Review for 2008–09 and 2009–10.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

19472; 438 c221-2W;438 c221-2W

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Nutrition School meals

Contains statistics

Yes