HC Deb 08 February 1988 vol 127 cc6-7
4. Dr. Marek

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will take steps to improve the quality of school meals in Wales; and if' he will make a statement.

The Minister of State, Welsh Office (Mr. Wyn Roberts)

Responsibility for the provision of school meals, including their quality, rests with local education authorities. A recent Government survey indicates that school meals provide adequate amounts of essential nutrients

Dr. Marek

Nevertheless, is the Minister aware of the research carried out at Darland high school in my constituency into students and children eating junk food and therefore not attaining their full academic potential? Is he concerned at the results of that research? Will he ensure that further research is carried out to confirm or rebut the results of the research at Darland high school and, as this is clearly a serious matter, which cannot be left to local education authorities, will he set in train processes to re-establish nutritional standards at all our schools in Wales?

Mr. Roberts

Of course I am aware of the experiment carried out at Darland high school in the hon. Gentleman's constituency, which, incidentally, is very well reported in the Lancet of 23 January. The conclusion of that research was that in most cases the average intake of vitamins was close to the recommended daily allowance, although for a minority the intake was low. W e always consider dietary studies of this kind, but whatever school meals are supplied the choice whether to take them lies with the children concerned.

Mr. Raffan

Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating Clwyd health authority and Clwyd local education authority on their joint campaign "Healthy Eating—the Clwyd Way"? Will he suggest to the Welsh Health Promotion Authority that it takes up this admirable initiative to teach schoolchildren about healthy eating through school meals with the correct foods and at a low price?

Mr. Roberts

My hon. Friend will be interested to know that the preliminary results of a DHSS survey into the diets of schoolchildren in Britain, published in April 1986, showed that school meals provided adequate amounts of all the essential nutrients, although intakes of fat were found to be too high. My hon. Friend is right in saying that all efforts to improve the quality of diet for schoolchildren should be welcomed, including the efforts of Clwyd.