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24 Mar 2005 : Column 1012W—continued
School Meals
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her estimate is of spending per person on school lunches in each year from 1990–91 to 2005–06; and if she will make a statement. [222148]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 17 March 2005]: The Department for Education and Skills does not collect information on the spending per person on school lunches.
The decentralised system of education funding means that local education authorities (LEAs) receive an amount based on need in their area. LEAs then agree with their schools how funding is to be delegated.
Mr. Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her Department's policy is on sourcing pork, bacon and ham bearing the British Pig Executive's Quality Standard Mark in schools; and if she will make a statement. [223242]
Derek Twigg: The Department for Education and Skills does not have responsibility for central procurement of food for schools. It is for individual local education authorities or, where the budget for school meals is delegated to them, school governing bodies to agree with their catering suppliers the ingredients to be used. If schools wish, they can use organic or locally-sourced foods.
The Healthy Living Blueprint for Schools set out our commitment to provide additional support for headteachers and governors in assessing the best way to provide a meals service, specify and tender contracts and
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monitor them. The Department is committed to promote the key objectives of the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI) through this work.
The key objectives of the PSFPI are to:
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of schools that provide school dinners consisting of (a) organic and (b) locally-sourced food. [223636]
Derek Twigg: The Department for Education and Skills does not collect information on schools that use organic or locally-sourced foods. Following the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, responsibility for most local education authority spending is delegated to schools' governing bodies. Schools have the freedom to choose their own suppliers or providers for many services including school meals provision. If schools wish, they can use organic or locally-sourced foods.
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to regulate the standards of meals served in schools; and if she will make a statement. [223637]
Derek Twigg: Regulations introduced in 2001 set nutritional standards for school lunches in all local education authority maintained schools in England. It is the responsibility of local education authorities or, where the budget for school meals is delegated to them, a school's governing body to ensure that these standards are met. We are currently working to strengthen the standards to reduce pupils' sugar, salt and fat intakes and increase fruit and vegetable consumption.
The Government's White Paper—Choosing Health: Making healthier choices easier" set out the commitment that from September 2005 Ofsted will, through its separate programme of subject and thematic reviews, report on the contribution that every school makes to the five outcomes for children underpinning the Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme. As part of their review, Ofsted will look at healthy eating in schools, including school meals and other food and drink available on school premises.
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance her Department has produced regarding nutritional standards for school meals. [223638]
Derek Twigg:
The Department published three guidance documents in 2001 to coincide with the introduction of statutory nutritional standards. These are
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Healthy School Lunches for Students in Secondary Schools", Healthy School Lunches for Pupils in Primary Schools", and Healthy School Lunches for Pupils in Nursery Schools/Units",
and are available at www.dfes.gov.uk/schoollunches. In addition to covering the statutory nutritional standards, the guidance covers healthy eating, good catering practice, ideas for improving service and monitoring nutritional standards.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will rank education authorities by the percentage of children entitled to receive free school dinners; and if she will indicate in each case the change in the percentage receiving free school meals since 1996–97. [222388]
Derek Twigg: The information requested has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
As a result of Local Government Reorganisation, the geographical boundaries of some LEAs in 2004 are not directly comparable with those in 1997. In these cases, figures for 1997 have not been given.
School Sports (Crosby)
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the effects on schools of changes since 1997 on the level of investment in school sports in Crosby. [223940]
Derek Twigg: I refer my hon. Friend to the response given by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools on 22 March 2004, Official Report, column 630W.
Schools (Data)
Mr. Forth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what choice of systems software schools had in production of the 2005 pupil level annual school census data. [223343]
Mr. Stephen Twigg [holding answer 22 March 2005]: Each school has freedom of choice over which ICT systems it employs to meet its specific needs and circumstances. This applies to the school management information systems that produced the returns of 2005 pupil level annual school census data.
Schools' choices and decisions are informed by the extensive advice and guidance provided by their local education authority, and by Becta (the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency), the Department's strategic partner in these matters.
Secondary Schools
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many secondary schools there are in (a) Bexley, (b) Bournemouth,
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(c) Buckinghamshire, (d) Kent, (e) Kingston upon Thames, (f) Lincolnshire, (g) Medway, (h) Poole, (i) Reading, (j) Slough, (k) Southend, (l) Sutton, (m) Torbay, (n) Trafford and (o) Wirral local education authority areas; and how many in each area
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are designated in performance tables as (i) comprehensive, (ii) selective and (iii) secondary modern schools. [223077]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information requested is shown in the table.
(28) Includes maintained secondary schools, City Technology Colleges and Academies. Excludes middle deemed secondary schools.
(29) Admissions policy as designated in the Secondary Achievement and Attainment Tables (formerly Performance Tables) as published in January 2005.
(30) As reported in the Annual Schools' Census as at January 2004.
Source:
Annual Schools' Census and Achievement and Attainment Tables
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