Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timescale is for the review of the School Food Standards.

This government wants pupils to be healthy. It promotes the consumption of dairy products as part of a balanced diet through guidance, funding and legislation.

The School Food Standards (where they apply) provide the legislative framework to ensure schools provide children with healthy food and drink options. This includes a requirement to make milk available at least once during the school day. The majority of schools are subject to the School Food Standards. However, some academies and free schools are not. As part of our work on the childhood obesity plan, we will be encouraging all schools to commit to the standards.

The Department does not hold information on how many schools in Garston and Halewood constituency comply with the milk requirements of the School Food Standards.

As indicated in ‘Childhood Obesity: a plan for action’, we will update the School Food Standards in light of refreshed government dietary recommendations. We plan to make further information on this work available later in the year. As stated in my answer to parliamentary question 64266, the revised Eatwell guide is distributed to schools to use alongside the school food standards and continues to define the government’s recommendations on a healthy balanced diet.