Doctors back free school meals for infants

Over 40 leading health experts have called on the government to rethink plans to scrap free school meals for pupils aged four to seven, warning the move will worsen the growing obesity problem among children.

The confirmation by a spokesperson for the Prime Minister, as reported by the BBC, breaks a long period of silence about the future of the policy after rumours of its impending demise surfaced. However it has been revealed that the policy is under threat as part of Chancellor George Osbourne’s November spending review.

The letter, which is also signed by representatives of charities Diabetes United Kingdom and the National Obesity Forum, said: “With one in three children leaving primary school overweight or obese, ensuring a nutritionally balanced school lunch has never been so important”.

The letter cites that only 1 percent of packed lunches meet the nutritional standards applying to school food, and that there is proof that kids consuming a healthy school lunch “consume more vegetables and fewer sugary drinks and crisps”.

More than 40 leading consultants, dentists and health officials have signed a letter to The Sunday Times that says it would be “short-term thinking” to axe the £600m service, which gives every infant in a state school a healthy cooked lunch. It was an excellent reform carried out in the last parliament.

A Department for Education spokesman said no decision on how the department might find savings had been made ahead of the Spending Review.

The free school meals budget, costing about £600 million or about $900 million each year, could be affected as it does not belong to the protected per-pupil schools budget.

Responding to news that the Government will keep the programme, co-author of the School Food Plan John Vincent said: “I am delighted with indications that the Government may be keeping their election promise on this vital policy – as will be the thousands of headteachers and doctors on the front line who understand the impact this will have on children’s education and health”.

“No child should be hindered because they are not eating a nutritious meal at lunchtime”.