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Peter Bradley (The Wrekin) (Lab): I am sure that my hon. Friend is right. Many parents, myself included, would like to see higher standards of nutrition and healthy eating in schools, but does he agree that children, particularly if they can be attracted to the healthy eating habit, may expect higher standards of nutrition in the home? One of the problems is that, with too many parents, if they were handed a leek they would not know what to do with it. [Interruption.] Even though there are few Members in the House, I was sure that would provoke some interest. In educating schools and education authorities, we also need to educate parents as to the benefits of a healthy diet. A major task needs to be undertaken. I hope that that point will find some sympathy with my hon. Friend.
Geraint Davies: I agree—it is a key point. The delivery of nutritional standards at home is a central problem. Indeed, some parents call for the nutritional standards at home to be available in school. They think, "Why should Johnny not eat this pre-prepared convenience meal at school? That is what we eat at home." The question is, what should be done about that? My focus has been on delivering nutritious meals in school, but the Government should go further than that in their relationship with the parents. Now that Jamie Oliver has delivered this menu of nutritious meals at affordable prices, there are many opportunities for such menus to be available to everyday families, including mine and possibly my hon. Friend's.
A lot of families are on a budget and face time constraints. They think that the easiest thing to do is to bung the meal in the microwave. If they know that a tasty, nutritious and attractive meal within budget has been designed to be prepared on-site in a school and can be prepared in a limited time, say 20 minutes, they may want to offer that sort of menu option to their children and family over a period of weeks. There is hope. We can now begin to go to families to enable them to provide
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more nutrition, rather than to take the easy route of low cost, high salt, high fat and sugar impregnated convenience food. It is a great challenge and a central point. I agree with what has been said.
There is a role for the Government and schools to reach out in the community as well.That being said, this is not about a top-down nanny state—it is an empowerment of families, parents, pupils and governors to enable them to have the tools to deliver nutritional benefits which, down stream, will mean less obesity and fewer health problems associated with bad nutrients and bad meals.
The Secretary of State has announced the new school food trust, which is mentioned in the Bill. The idea of that is to provide independent support to schools and parents. It will comprise a collection of people from food industries, caterers and nutritionists. I agree that it is a valuable body to set up. The Bill, I hope, makes it clear that it should have some teeth. Clause 4 says that its purpose should be not just to provide advice, but to
There is an issue about delivery of standards, rather than hoping for the best. That organisation should be accountable and expected to deliver, alongside Ofsted, on school nutritional standards, with pressure coming from parents, too.
We have a duty to act to ensure that the changes that parents want take place. One of those relates to vending, which can be the Trojan horse that delivers products of bad nutritional value into schools. Obviously, many schools rely on vending machines—£10 million of revenue comes from them. A survey commissioned by The Guardian found that 70 per cent. of parents wanted vending machines taken out of schools. Vending is an important issue. The net calorific increase for children during the day is from in-between snacking, which is central to the problem.
Some vending can provide nutritious, tasty and healthy food. I spoke to the biggest non-branded vending caterer, Compass, which pointed out that its machines, which are healthy, would deliver as much revenue as branded and less healthy machines. In my view, nutritious products can be delivered through vending, but we should not have a free-for-all of chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks impregnated with sugar freely available throughout the school day to our children. The Government have moved forward with the idea of best practice. The healthy schools programme will give accreditation to healthy schools, but not if the vending facilities are not appropriate. We can see how that goes, but we should ensure that there is no unhealthy vending in schools.
On the question of schools that provide breakfast, lunch and after-school meals—allowing parents to participate in the labour market—parents want an assurance that their children will be looked after under a regime of nutritious, healthy food, rather than what is provided now. That is why we need legislation to help to deliver nutritional standards. We await that and I hope that the Government will incorporate some of these
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ideas in that legislation. In the meantime, we must encourage and support parents in meeting the challenges and put pressure on schools to drive up participation in school meals and the nutritional standards thereof.
I have welcomed the changes that the Government have made so far in terms of exercise, the health White Paper and school meals. I am glad, like other hon. Members, to be part of that drive towards a healthy change. I believe fundamentally that we should keep our eye on the prize—that, over time, we can deliver better nutrition, health, behaviour, attainment and a better future for healthier children who live longer and achieve more. That is worth all our efforts. After all, Britain's future is our children's future; let us make that future a brighter and healthier future for all.
12.47 pm
Mr. Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury and Atcham) (LD): I congratulate the hon. Member for Croydon, Central (Geraint Davies) on his good fortune in gaining a high position in the ballot and on proposing this important debate and Bill. The Bill is laudable in its aims and Liberal Democrats would not oppose it at this stage, although we would like to see amendments tabled if it progresses. The subject is too often overlooked.
As a parent myself, I know that there is often a sense of frustration. We expect our children in school to receive the best quality education and the best quality food. Too often, as the hon. Gentleman said, one sees vending machines supplying some of the worst possible foods and clearly sub-standard food is provided in canteens—assuming the school has a canteen. He rightly pointed out that some schools cannot even serve hot food and I hope that the Minister will explain what is being done about that. We want schools and local education authorities to have autonomy to make their own decisions, but surely children in Britain in the 21st century should be able to look forward to hot, decent food.
Overall, the Bill is laudable, but I foresee complications in trying to stop children from going to certain places. I would have thought that legislation already provides powers to ensure that children do not stray off site without permission from their parents or teachers and unless they are supposed to be elsewhere. It is difficult during lunch breaks to specify where children should be. I would also be concerned if children were told to stay indoors at lunchtime because, as the hon. Gentleman said, we want them to take more exercise and to be involved in more sporting activities, so we want to encourage them to do other things.
Geraint Davies: The point is that, with the authorisation of the governors and the head, the children would be kept within the school perimeters during the lunchtime break. The idea is not to keep them indoors. Like the hon. Gentleman, I want exercise to be encouraged at lunchtime as part of a good health regime.
Mr. Marsden:
I am grateful for that clarification, but I stress that we must consider the matter in the round. The hon. Gentleman has been at the forefront of the
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campaign for better nutritional standards and it is to his great credit that what he is doing today and what he has previously done will, I hope, push it up the Government's agenda.
The standard of food available to children in schools is a postcode lottery. My two young sons attend a primary school in Shropshire and I sometimes wonder what they are being fed. Their meals cost £1.45 each with options that vary daily. I know that the catering staff do their level best with what is available, but the nutritional standards do not seem to be the highest. No doubt I shall receive letters after that comment, but I stand by it.
The hon. Gentleman made an important point about vending machines, to which clause 5 refers. It is significant that large corporations can have great power and influence. I am thinking particularly of McDonald's because, only a few weeks ago, my 6-year-old was running around during football training wearing a jacket with the McDonald's logo on it. McDonald's had obviously sponsored the kit and, afterwards, my son, perhaps coincidentally, asked to go to McDonald's. I worry about such creeping influence in schools. They want more resources and extra income and may be forced to accept sponsorship and donations from companies that I deem not to be totally responsible nor the best sponsors because they may have an unfavourable influence over children, particularly concerning food and its nutritional standard.
Overall, the Bill is welcome and its principle is good. I may disagree with some aspects of it, but I hope that it will progress well.
12.54 pm
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