Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will conduct a review of the funding model for school meals in (a) locally maintained and (b) Multi Academy Trust schools.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

An uplift to the per-meal rate for universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) and further education (FE) free meals was announced on 4 December 2024. The uplifted meal rate will be increased from £2.53 to £2.58 for 2024 to 2025, backdated to the start of the academic year.

To support the provision of benefits-related free school meals (FSM), the government provides funding at £490 per eligible FSM pupil per year as a factor value within the national funding formula. This value will be increasing to £495 per eligible FSM pupil in 2025/26. UIFSM and FE free meals are funded separately through a direct grant to schools and colleges. As with all government programmes, we will keep our approach, including for FSM, under continued review.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to take further steps to ensure that Government Food Standards are adhered to in (a) locally maintained and (b) Multi Academy Trust schools.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

It is important that children eat nutritious food at school and the department encourages schools to have a whole school approach to healthy eating. The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at lunchtime and at other times of the school day.

School governors have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the headteacher and the senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.

To support governors in their role around compliance, the department, along with the National Governance Association, is running a pilot online training course on school food for governors and trustees. This launched on 4 November 2024 and will run until 1 April 2025. This will help governors to improve their understanding of the standards and give governing boards confidence to hold their school leaders to account on their whole school approach to food. The department will evaluate the training programme’s reception and effectiveness in the short term.

Additionally, the department and the Food Standards Agency, along with support from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, ran a pilot with 18 local authorities during the 2022/23 academic year to find out whether food safety officers were able to ensure the compliance of School Food Standards when carrying out routine food hygiene inspections in schools. Analysis of the final phase has now been completed, and the final report was published August 2024.

We will keep our approach to the School Food Standards and our approaches to compliance under continued review.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce the rates that will be paid to (a) locally maintained and (b) Multi Academy Trust schools for universal infant free school meals this academic year.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

An uplift to the per-meal rate for universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) and further education (FE) free meals was announced on 4 December 2024. The uplifted meal rate will be increased from £2.53 to £2.58 for 2024 to 2025, backdated to the start of the academic year.

To support the provision of benefits-related free school meals (FSM), the government provides funding at £490 per eligible FSM pupil per year as a factor value within the national funding formula. This value will be increasing to £495 per eligible FSM pupil in 2025/26. UIFSM and FE free meals are funded separately through a direct grant to schools and colleges. As with all government programmes, we will keep our approach, including for FSM, under continued review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce waiting times for ambulances in the East Midlands.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve performance and achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution, including for ambulance response times.

As a first step, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, appointed Professor Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of the NHS’ performance. The investigation’s findings were published on 12 September and will feed into the Government’s work on a 10-Year Health Plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.

Ahead of this winter, NHS England has set out the priorities for the NHS to maintain and improve patient safety and experience, including actions to support patient flow and ensure that ambulances are released in a timely way. NHS England’s winter letter, sent to all integrated care boards, including those in the East Midlands, is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/winter-and-h2-priorities

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the guidance entitled School food standards: resources for schools, published on 26 March 2019, what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure that this guidance is being followed in all (a) locally maintained and (b) multi-academy trust schools.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

It is important that children eat nutritious food at school and the department encourages schools to have a whole school approach to healthy eating. The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at lunchtime and at other times of the school day.

School governors have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the headteacher and the senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.

To support governors in their role around compliance, the department, along with the National Governance Association, is running a pilot online training course on school food for governors and trustees. This launched on 4 November 2024 and will run until 1 April 2025. This will help governors to improve their understanding of the standards and give governing boards confidence to hold their school leaders to account on their whole school approach to food. The department will evaluate the training programme’s reception and effectiveness in the short term.

Additionally, the department and the Food Standards Agency, along with support from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, ran a pilot with 18 local authorities during the 2022/23 academic year to find out whether food safety officers were able to ensure the compliance of School Food Standards when carrying out routine food hygiene inspections in schools. Analysis of the final phase has now been completed, and the final report was published August 2024.

We will keep our approach to the School Food Standards and our approaches to compliance under continued review.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that at least 50% of all food purchased by the public sector is (a) locally produced and (b) sustainable.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has an ambition to be able to supply half of all food into the public sector from British producers or certified to higher environmental standards, whilst being in line with World Trade Organisation and domestic procurement obligations. Officials are developing a range of proposals to develop public sector food and catering procurement policy, to set the tone for Government ambition, as well as driving net zero, public health and animal welfare outcomes. In the meantime, the Procurement Act 2023 allow contracts below certain spending thresholds to be reserved for smaller UK suppliers which presents a real opportunity for small and medium sized enterprises and public procurement.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to implement a national food strategy.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is developing an ambitious food strategy which will set the food system on the path for long-term success, ensuring it is able to feed the nation, realising its potential for economic growth, boosting our food security, improving our health, and ensuring environmental sustainability now and in the future.

We know this will require a whole-of-Government effort – the issues the food system faces cut across the work of many Departments. We also know that this is not a job for government alone. We will work side-by-side with industry and stakeholders across the food system to deliver lasting change, forming a partnership that draws on shared expertise and collective commitments, backed by a clear vision and framework for change.

Found: Debbie Abrahams (Chair); Johanna Baxter; Mr Peter Bedford; Steve Darling; Damien Egan; Gill German; Amanda Hack