Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to continue
their funding of the National School Breakfast Programme.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Education ( of Oulton) (Con)
My Lords, the department is investing up to £26 million in a
breakfast club programme, using funds from the soft drinks
industry levy. This money will kick-start or improve breakfast
clubs in over 1,700 schools. The focus of these clubs has been to
target the most disadvantaged areas of the country, including the
Department for Education’s opportunity areas. Decisions about
funding beyond March 2020 will be taken as part of the spending
review.
(CB)
I thank the Minister for his response and for the current
commitment to the school breakfast programme. However, contracts
are due to end, complex supply chains are in existence and, as
yet, decisions have not been taken as to whether or not this
programme will be funded. If the Government do not commit to the
continued funding of this programme, there is a risk that more
than 280,000 children will arrive at school one morning and find
that there is no breakfast. Will the Minister please reassure the
House that the Government will commit to the continued funding of
this programme?
of Oulton
My Lords, as I said, any decision to renew the contract for this
national school breakfast programme will be part of this year’s
spending round, of which headline details were announced
yesterday by the Chancellor. My officials are working closely
with the contractor on ensuring that breakfast clubs are
sustainable. We will announce plans in relation to this shortly.
However, I want to ensure that we do not entrench existing
suppliers. We must remain alert to other ideas and other methods
of delivery.
(LD)
My Lords, the Minister will be aware that where breakfast clubs
operate it ensures that children’s attendance and punctuality
improve, healthy food is eaten, attainment achievement is often
improved and socialisation takes place. He will also be aware
that 62% of teachers say that increasing numbers of children are
coming to school undernourished and wanting food. When this
decision on spending takes place, will he put those important
issues into consideration so that this programme can not only
continue but be extended?
of Oulton
I completely agree with the noble Lord on the importance of a
healthy breakfast for children—there is masses of evidence to
support the benefits. It improves concentration and provides
nutrition, which does not always happen at home. I agree with
that. We are reviewing the future of the programme. We had our
spending settlement letter and announcement from the Chancellor
only yesterday. We want to ensure that we can extend this
programme in an effective way. We have targeted it initially in
the opportunity areas, which, as noble Lords will know, are some
of the areas of greatest deprivation. We want to create a system
that is sustainable into the long term.
(CB)
No one has any doubt about the importance of breakfast and yet,
at the moment, apart from the scheme mentioned by my noble friend
Lord Curry, almost all these breakfasts are being provided by
charities such as Magic Breakfast. However, even Magic Breakfast
reckons that 1.8 million children go to school hungry every
morning. Surely this matter should not be haphazardly funded by
the sugar tax or by desperate mothers and charities such as Magic
Breakfast. Does the Minister agree that this should be a
responsibility of the Department for Education and of all of us
because we know how fundamentally important it is?
of Oulton
The noble Baroness makes important points. There is both a macro
and a micro issue here. For example, today I looked at the LIFFE
futures price for wheat: it is £130 a tonne. When I last worked
on my father’s farm in 1978 it was about £100 a tonne. Food has
never been cheaper. We have had a revolution in the provision of
food in this country and, indeed, in the western world. We need
to understand why these families are struggling to produce meals
at home. A great deal of that centres around education. I
appeared before a Select Committee yesterday on holiday hunger
and we need to learn a lot more about this. We have introduced
the infant free school meals in the past couple of years. That
programme is feeding 1.5 million children and has an 85% take-up.
(Con)
Does my noble friend agree that much of the funding for these
schemes comes from the soft drinks industry? Can he confirm that
it is difficult to avoid a conflict of interest when those that
might be providing sustenance which is not always as healthy as
it should be are involved in schemes such as these?
of Oulton
The noble Lord is quite right. I should perhaps declare my own
interest as someone who grows 3,500 tonnes of sugar beet every
year. Of course, a lot of that sugar does not go to the right
places. The levy is designed as a pump-primer for the system. We
want to see this money encouraging schools to start breakfast
clubs that are sustainable in the long term. Noble Lords will be
aware that we have just announced a tremendous funding settlement
for schools over the next three years. I am confident that there
are now resources coming into schools that will enable them to
sustain them.
(Lab)
My Lords, it should be a source of shame to the Government that
after nine years in power some children in England turn up at
school in the morning too hungry to learn. I was astonished to
hear the Minister say that he cannot understand why that is the
situation. There is a simple one-word answer to that: austerity.
That is said to be over now, but it has a long way to run in its
effects. The National School Breakfast Programme is a necessity
but, as other noble Lords have said, its funding needs to be not
just continued but increased—a point made by the CEO of the
charity that delivers the programme in his recent report. The
problem is that the sugar tax funds it. The Prime Minister has
said that he wants to reduce the sugar tax, so where does that
leave the National School Breakfast Programme? Labour will enter
the general election with a commitment to provide universal free
school meals to all primary schoolchildren. What will the Tory
party’s response to that be?
of Oulton
My Lords, first, we very much look forward to the general
election and at the moment it is the Labour Opposition who are
blocking it. Let us deal with the core issues. We know without
dispute that children growing up in a home where adults are
working are around five times less likely to be in poverty than a
child in a household where nobody works. Since 2010, 3.7 million
more people are in work. There are 1 million fewer workless
households. Children are benefiting from this, and I am very
proud of our track record.
(CB)
My Lords, according to the Food Foundation, there are 3.7 million
children in this country living in households where a healthy
diet is unaffordable. Does the Minister agree that that is a
disgraceful situation for one of the wealthiest countries in the
world? Can he tell us what the Government are doing to address
this problem?
of Oulton
I come back to my answer to an earlier question. As I said, there
is the top line and the micro line. Why are these families
struggling? I disagree with the noble Lord opposite that it is
down to austerity. I think it is down to learning more about
parenting. At a meeting of a committee looking at holiday hunger,
one mother said that her children go to the fridge and help
themselves to food whenever they want it, whereas at school there
are regular, fixed mealtimes. It is simple things such as this.
We want to help parents to understand that they need to produce
structure and to know how to cook healthy and affordable meals.
