§ Joyce Quin:To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement about the operation of the free fruit scheme in schools; [131876]
(2) what plans he has to extend the free fruit scheme for schools in the North East of England. [131880]
§ Miss Melanie Johnson:Following successful small-scale pilots in 2000 and 2001, the national school fruit scheme has been introduced over the last 18 months in four whole regions in England: the West Midlands, London, the North West and the East Midlands. The next region due to join will be the North East, starting in spring 2004. These region-wide pilots, which have been supported by £42 million from the lottery-funded New Opportunities Fund, will be evaluated to establish the impact on children's diets and the practicalities of the scheme, before rolling out nationally later in 2004.