Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to incorporate the March 2016 revisions to the Eatwell Guide into the planned update to the School Food Standards.

The new School Food Standards came into force in January 2015 and were informed by an Expert Panel of nutritional experts and industry representatives. The new standards were tested by 31 schools and 24 caterers from across England, overseen by a group of school catering experts and nutritionists, with positive outcomes. Trials showed that the new standards are popular with cooks and the menus were as good as the nutrient-based ones under the previous standards.

As part of the Department’s work to tackle childhood obesity, we have committed to reviewing the School Food Standards to align with the latest scientific advice on sugar. We are in the process of scoping out the timelines for this piece of work and further information will be available later in the year.

The revised Eatwell guide is also distributed to schools to use alongside the school food standards and continues to define the government’s recommendations on a healthy balanced diet.