News

The Guardian newspaper reports today that a group of campaigners led by Islington councillor Richard Watts, London Assembly member Fiona Twycross and the president of the GMB union, Mary Turner are calling for universal free school meals to be included in all local authority manifestos next year and to be included in the Labour Party manifesto for 2015.

It is a cause which has been supported for some time by Sharon Hodgson MP, the shadow education minister.

The Guardian report says the campaign will be launched officially at a fringe event at the Labour conference this month, although Watts had said the group hoped to attract cross-party support.

The development follows news that the children’s charities 4in10 and Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) are launching a campaign this week to provide a free school meal for every child in London.
Both initiatives follow a government-commissioned review of school food carried out by the founders of the Leon restaurant chain, Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent.

The School Food Plan, published in July, highlighted the poor nutritional quality of many packed lunches, and low uptake of school meals (just 43%), and called for the introduction of universal free school meals in primary schools.

Islington council, which has been trialling free school meals in the borough, has already reported that despite receiving some criticism for the including the children of wealthier parents the scheme has been ‘overwhelmingly successful’, with head teachers from the borough and Southwark in South London claiming demonstrable improvements in attendance and concentration levels since its introduction.

Anne Bull, chair of LACA, commented: “LACA absolutely agrees that children should eat a hot, nutritious school meal in order to improve child health and reduce obesity, as well as increase concentration and attainment in the classroom.

“For many children in poverty a school lunch can be their only hot meal of the day. We welcome the calls from Richard Watts, Fiona Twycross and Mary Turner for universal free school meals to be included in all local authority manifestos for the next year, and hope this will also be reflected in the political party manifestos for the 2015 General Election.

“This would be a fitting next move following the recommendations of the School Food Plan, published by the government in July.

“Previous pilots across the local authorities in Hull, Durham and Newham have found such schemes to be a great success, with subsequent research supporting LACA’s long-held view that the introduction of free school meals leads to significant improvements in the attainment of children from low-income backgrounds.

“We hope the Secretary of State for Education, who is reported to be supportive of the scheme, can make the financial case and persuade the Treasury of the benefits this scheme could have on child poverty and obesity.”

The full Guardian article can be found at:

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/sep/09/universal-free-school-meals-campaign