School Meals (Hansard, 23 March 2004)

§ Mr. Stephen McCabe (Birmingham, Hall Green) (Lab)

Health, particularly that of children, is currently a hot issue that is endlessly discussed in newspapers and magazines and on radio and television. The Government treat it seriously, and various Departments play their part: the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Health, the Department for Education and Skills, the Food Standards Agency and dozens of other non-Government organisations across the country. I recognise the serious commitment of all those involved. A recent Food Standards Agency report linked children's diets with television advertising, and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Tessa Jowell) has asked the advertisers to consider their role. The Department of Health is currently examining the issue of food labelling, particularly where fat, salt and high sugar contents are involved. There can be no doubt about our common objectives.

I was particularly stuck to read recently about Sue Seabrook, a secondary school catering manager in Gloucester, who made the startling confession that for the last two years, she has been guilty of force feeding pupils with vitamins by surreptitiously adding pureed vegetables to their school dinners. She probably deserves a medal. Despite all the activity, our children's health continues to deteriorate, and obesity appears to rise almost in direct relation to the number of Government warnings about health and nutrition. In far too many areas, school meals have become virtually nutrition-free. The food value on the plate is about 35p, despite an average charge of £1.60. All too often the meal of the day is reheated pizza or burger and chips. Some staff and governors have argued that they do not pursue healthy eating in schools because feel no incentive to do so.

Let us consider what is happening. One in seven 15-year-olds and one in 12 16-year-olds are now so overweight that their health is already under threat. The long-term implications of lost school days, extra costs to the health service, and eventual loss of earning potential are catastrophic. We should be concerned not only with individual health problems, but with the growing problem of unacceptable behaviour in our schools. Studies in Spain have found that children with behavioural difficulties, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, have low levels of vitamin B—folic acid—which is normally found in green vegetables and breakfast cereals. Many experts are now beginning to link the growth in ADHD with child nutrition.

Lord Winston wrote recently about the effect of good nutrition on behaviour, citing research from the USA and Oxford university. In one example, children were given nutritional supplements, which appeared to lead to a reduction in cognitive problems, behavioural problems and anxiety. Poor behaviour does not affect only the child who is behaving badly; it has a knock-on effect on every other child in the class. If the youngster is then excluded, that leads to further personal difficulties and adds to the overall cost of education without any discernable gain. If the youngster is then 206WH excluded, that leads to further personal difficulties and adds to the overall cost of education without any discernable gain.

I am conscious that poor nutrition is not recognised as a contributory factor to behavioural problems in our schools. I read in a recent DFES circular that the Department recognises that attendance and behaviour are fundamental and can make or break our school system. The circular went on to acknowledge that bad behaviour had a range of explanations and sources and that there was not a single quick fix but that there should be more tools in the box for staff and teachers to use.

It seems obvious that we need to try to do more to tackle such problems. If a youngster has a poor diet and is consuming products stuffed with highly refined sugar, it cannot be a great surprise that their attention span is poor and that their behaviour is characterised by a sudden energy rush followed by lethargy, lack of concentration and inattentiveness. There are already links between poverty, obesity and child behaviour. We provide free school meals for a great many children in this country. Would it not make sense to ensure the nutritional value of those meals?

Finland is often cited in debates such as this as a country that has sorted out school meals and exercise programmes for its youngsters. In so doing, it has tackled a great many health and behaviour problems. Someone recently suggested to me that the Finns are a biddable nation who accept expert advice and support Government measures put in place for their own good. I understand that in some Finnish villages it is common to compete to see which village can reduce overall cholesterol levels the fastest, and that schools regularly weigh pupils and advise parents if there is a problem with the youngster's weight.

Try as I might, I cannot see that happening here. We seem to be a population who revel in ignoring expert advice and resent being told how to behave. Choice is obviously important in our society, but offering a youngster a choice between chips and doughnuts and a tuna salad strikes me as a bit tricky. I have thought for some time that we should maybe persuade the big chain outlets to give the toys away with the apple and the salad rather than with the chips and chicken nuggets. I have tried to persuade my own children that they should think about that, but they are not desperately keen at the moment.

About 20 programmes are spread across the various Departments, all tackling issues of diet or nutrition aimed at children. In addition, we have health action zones, Sure Start, healthy living centres and others. To cite just one example, the New Opportunities Fund commitment of £42 million pounds for the national fruit scheme provides about 800,000 children with one piece of fresh fruit a day. I am told that that same money could provide about 26 million nutritious school meals.

Funding in this area across Departments—excluding local and regional programmes—is worth about £173 million. I wonder whether the time has come to have a serious debate on our children's health and to consider what proactive measures we could take. I would recommend a national audit of all the current funding. Personally, I think that we should explore the notion of free, nutritious school meals for all primary children. A 207WH poll on Channel 4's "Richard and Judy" programme yesterday showed that at least 70 per cent. of their viewers supported that idea.

At the very least we should ensure that the 2 million primary school children whose parents pay for school dinners or who already receive them free are guaranteed one healthy nutritious meal a day. I am not calling for blue skies thinking or excessive radicalism; rather, I am calling for a rational and sensible debate. We must recognise the huge long-term cost if we do not get to grips with such problems. School meals could be a vital tool in transforming our children's health and behaviour.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Skills () Mr. Stephen Twigg

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Hall Green (Mr. McCabe) on securing this debate, which, despite the absence of any other Member from any other party, is of great significance for all our constituents and our country. I welcome his call for a rational and sensible debate and I concur that it is vital that we have one. My hon. Friend referred at the beginning of his speech to the Government's clear commitment to promoting healthy eating and encouraging pupils to be physically active. An important part of fulfilling that commitment is a greater focus on physical education and sport in our schools.

It is essential that we practise what we preach about joined-up approaches to government at all levels. My hon. Friend referred to the different Departments and institutions that have an interest in making that objective a success, such as the Department for Education and Skills, the Department of Health, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Food Standards Agency and external organisations. My hon. Friend's challenge, which is reasonable, is for each Department to have a coherent approach. He cited the example of advice from the Department for Education and Skills about attendance and the impact on children's behaviour of the diet and food options available in schools. I am sure that, like me, my hon. Friend has visited schools where teachers and governors have made that case powerfully, as have the children and young people themselves, in their meetings.

We spend a lot of money on children's health and it is vital that the money is used to the greatest effect. My hon. Friend talked about an audit of where the money is spent—I shall return to that at the end of my remarks. He described the national school fruit scheme, which is a £42 million scheme that is now funded through the New Opportunities Fund, but which will in future be funded by the Department of Health. The scheme followed the manifesto commitment, on which my hon. Friend and I were both elected in 2001, to provide a free piece of fruit each day to children between the ages of four and six. More than 1 million children now receive their fruit. The programme is under review and I understand that carrots are to be designated as a fruit, because the feedback that we have received suggests that they would be particularly popular, as well as nutritious. 208WH From my visits as a Minister and as a constituency MP, I know that the scheme is popular. I remember knocking on a door in my constituency and meeting an eight-year-old girl who said that she was upset that the scheme applied to infant schools but not to her junior school. Her five-year old brother then appeared and said that he would be quite happy if the scheme did not apply to his school, because he was not keen on the fruit that he was getting. However, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Some 99 per cent. of staff at schools that have been part of the scheme welcome and support it, and 97 per cent. of those schools say that it supports teaching and learning. Almost every school involved is in favour of continuing the scheme.

In learning lessons from that scheme, we need to consider the implications for our broader work. In my hon. Friend's closing remarks he talked about the possibility of free school meals for all primary age children. Kingston upon Hull city council was recently granted permission for precisely such a scheme. Free school meals will be introduced for primary age children in schools there. It will be interesting to consider the impact of that proposal and the take-up of the meals on the children's education, their health, and their behaviour. I shall be attending an event in Hull next week at which such proposals will be considered. Hon. Members will want to keep a close eye on how such schemes develop and to consider their implications for policy throughout the country.

It is critical that school meals have high nutritional standards. My hon. Friend rightly focused on the dilemma of choice and whether it was possible to provide a choice, and still to bring about a healthy outcome. I accept that that can be a tricky matter, but such decisions are best taken locally. I especially welcome what Hull has done, because it decided locally to introduce the free school meals scheme. Although there is clear guidance from the Government, the situation varies from school to school; we must ensure that the basic standard is higher than it is at present in some schools.

I am impressed by the schools that have successfully engaged with their pupils about the options that are available, with the result that they have healthier menus, contrary to what we might think about what pupils say they prefer. Recently, I visited Barking Abbey, a specialist sports college in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham, which decided to change its school meal contract and to source all its meals from a local organic farm, at no extra cost. That is most encouraging, as there will be a higher take-up by the pupils, who will have healthier options.

The Department for Education and Skills and the Food Standards Agency are undertaking a joint exercise involving about 80 secondary schools in England to consider the extent to which schools adhere to the standards. It is important to see whether schools are following the recommendations issued by the Department in "Healthy School Lunches—Guidance for Caterers on Implementing the Nutritional Standards". The study will also consider broader issues such as the dining room layout and space, lunchtime activities, vending machines—that is a big issue that has been subject to public debate—seasonal produce, and the nature of catering and contracts. 209WH My hon. Friend asked us to look at the example from Finland in the context of strategies for primary schools, and several primary school heads have made the same suggestion. Selflessly, I have agreed to visit Finland and I undertake to look at school meals as well as primary school policy. I was very impressed by the quality of the food provided for primary-age children at a school that I visited in Madrid a couple of months ago. My hon. Friend cited evidence from Spain in his speech. We can learn from positive examples elsewhere in the world, as well as in this country.

My hon. Friend said that he was proposing not blue-sky thinking or extreme radicalism but simply getting the balance right. It has been suggested that some foods and vending machines should be banned, and there has been a broad public debate about such proposals. We are cautious about the matter, as such decisions are better taken by the head teacher and governors of the schools themselves. It has been suggested that vending machines could provide water and healthier food such as fruit, and we have a role in encouraging the take-up of those options.

I should like to say something about the broader role that education and schools can play in encouraging healthy living and healthy eating. Clearly, the curriculum itself has a part to play. While food and nutrition is not a discrete subject, there are many opportunities across the curriculum to encourage healthy living and an active lifestyle, for example through personal, social and health education in science and in food technology. We are constantly looking at ways in which we can ensure that these areas of the curriculum support the important work that is going on in that respect.

An area for which I have direct responsibility is personal, social and health education and citizenship education in our schools. An important part of that is encouraging healthy lifestyles and ensuring that healthy eating is embedded in the ethos of our schools. Five years ago, we launched the national healthy schools standard. I am impressed with the numbers of schools that have achieved that standard and the real enthusiasm that there is for it. I should like all our schools to sign up to that and to obtain a kite mark for being a healthy school both in terms of the food that they provide at lunchtime and, more broadly, their curriculum and wider work.

One subject on the school curriculum is the food and nutrition strand within design and technology. It is not compulsory, but I am pleased to report that it is growing in popularity, particularly among boys. Around 100,000 14 to 16-year-olds take GCSE food technology and we are investing an additional £500,000 in professional development for this important part of the school curriculum. We are also encouraging primary schools to consider this.

Finally, we have the food in schools programme, which is a joint programme between our Department and the Department of Health. The aim is to bring 210WH together the different initiatives, some of which my hon. Friend mentioned. We have been working with the British Nutrition Foundation and the Design and Technology Association to draw up guidance on establishing a whole school food policy that links together all the different aspects I have described, so that the messages that are available throughout the school are consistent.

A number of different projects have been set up including healthier breakfast clubs. Breakfast clubs can contribute to all of the outcomes that my hon. Friend rightly emphasised in respect of lunches. Healthier breakfast clubs can have the same impact on behaviour. Tuck shops and what is available there and through vending machines is another element. The availability of water also makes a difference to the health and behaviour of children. Other projects involve the dining room environment, cookery clubs and growing clubs for the outside areas. We are seeking to provide best practice and to learn from the best practice that is available in schools and communities across the country.

Last year my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made a speech at the Institute of Public Health in which he announced that the Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health would work together on a healthy living action plan. That plan is of critical importance. It enables us to learn from schools that are implementing successful whole school food policies and to look at what works and what does not. It gives us the opportunity, to which my hon. Friend alluded, to engage those who may be apathetic, uncertain or even resistant to these changes and to examine what motivates teachers, heads and governors in this respect.

The potential benefits to be gained from a healthy living action plan that brings together all the different resources in government, in schools, local communities and the wider world are well worth striving for. It will draw together the key areas of work from the different Departments to create a healthy living blueprint for improving pupils' diet and nutritional knowledge. That important work is under way, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made it clear that it is a vital part of our work in the Department for Education and Skills. This is an important debate on a subject that is close to the hearts of all our constituents and hon. Members on both sides of the House. For that reason, I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Hall Green for securing the debate, which will make an important contribution to the discussion as it progresses. I hope that we can engage hon. Members on both sides of the House and the wider public, so that we get things right and establish the very best practice with regard to healthy living and healthy meals in our schools and the broader education community.