Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the role of nutritious school food in reducing health inequalities in constituencies with high levels of child poverty and childhood excess weight, including Wolverhampton North East.

The department recognises that access to nutritious school food plays an important role in supporting children’s health and breaking down barriers to opportunity. The School Food Standards set the mandatory nutritional framework for food and drink in state‑funded schools, ensuring pupils receive the energy and nutrients they need while developing healthy eating habits. This is why we are taking action to update the Standards and are consulting on the changes to ensure they better reflect current nutritional guidance. Nutritious school food, alongside education on healthy eating, supports wider efforts to improve health outcomes.

The consultation is available at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-food-policy-team/school-food-standards-updating-the-leg-framework/.