Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review
and revise the children’s school meal regulations to reduce the
levels of processed sugar and to provide incentives to encourage
the use of alternatives such as stevia.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Education () (Con)
My Lords, the school food standards regulate for food and drink
provided at lunchtime and at other times of the school day. They
restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar. We believe that the
current standards provide a robust yet flexible framework to
ensure that pupils in England continue to receive high-quality
and nutritious food that builds healthy eating habits for life.
We are keeping the standards under review, including the use of
sugar and sugar alternatives.
(Lab)
I am grateful to the Minister for saying that the Government are
keeping it under review. Is she aware that we have the
unhealthiest children in Europe? If the regulations are working,
why is that the case? If she accepts that fact, will she go back
and speak to the her department and the Department of Health and
see whether we can get some progress along the lines of what
happens in the Netherlands, where the producers and the
Government come together to look at food reformulation, giving
children healthier food and getting away from the inevitable
decline, which we are suffering, into more obesity and type 2
diabetes?
(Con)
I do recognise the figures to which the noble Lord refers with
regard to the level of obesity—particularly shocking, perhaps, in
our primary age children. The noble Lord will be aware that in
2019 we brought together a group of stakeholders to look at
updating the standards. That was postponed for understandable
reasons during Covid but my right honourable friend the Minister
for School Standards is now looking at this very actively.
(LD)
My Lords, is the Minister aware that nearly 1,600 children in
England and Wales are suffering from type 2 diabetes—a disease
that causes inflammation throughout the body and, if not treated
properly, can cause kidney failure, heart attacks and other
diseases in later life—and that a high proportion of these
children come from the lower demographic groups? Can the Minister
really say, hand on heart, that the Government are doing
everything they can to address the shortcomings of the diets of
poorer children in our society?
(Con)
The Government have made a great deal of progress in this area,
which is not to say that there is not more to do. The noble
Baroness will be familiar with the so-called sugar tax, which has
led to a decrease of almost half in the amount of sugar in soft
drinks between 2015 and 2020. Most recently, we introduced
regulations restricting the location of products with high fat,
salt and sugar in supermarkets, which is critical in making sure
that children do not access those foods.
(Con)
My Lords, one-quarter of two to 15 year-olds are obese or
overweight. Despite Governments publishing 14 obesity strategies
containing 689 policies between 1992 and 2020, the prevalence has
not reduced. Does my noble friend accept that, unless radical
changes are made to support healthier eating habits, the
increasing rates of obesity and related diseases, such as
diabetes, heart disease and cancer, are likely to break the
NHS?
(Con)
The Government continue to take a number of steps. The point I
would make to my noble friend—she understands this better than I
do—is that obesity is a fantastically complicated problem caused
by a number of different factors, of which calorie intake is,
obviously, one part, but activity is another. That is why we were
so pleased to confirm recently the £600 million for the PE and
sport premium for primary schools over the next two years.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister is probably aware of figures released last
week, which showed that, in the early 1950s, the UK had one of
the longest life expectancies in the world. Recent figures
suggest that we are now 29th in the league table. Only the US is
performing worse in comparative terms than the UK, largely
because of diet problems. Can the Minister assure me that, in
taking forward the work that she has just mentioned, the
education sector will recognise that it has to work very hard
with the health sector to develop huge programmes of health
improvement embracing young people?
(Con)
The Department for Education has already been working closely
with our colleagues in the Department of Health. I absolutely
agree with the point that the noble Lord is making.
(CB)
My Lords, just to correct the Minister, all new science shows
that it is calorie intake of the wrong kind, such as in
ultra-processed food, that causes obesity. While exercise keeps
you healthy, it does not take off weight unless you are prepared
to run a marathon every day. One thing the Government could do if
they are serious about this is to extend the salary limit at
which you can get free school meals. Currently, you have to be on
universal credit, earning under £7,500—that is fantastically
little—before your child gets a healthy, decent meal once a
day—made up, ideally, of decent ingredients. Can the Government
look at this again?
(Con)
As the noble Baroness knows, we keep the eligibility for free
school meals under constant review, but the House is also aware
that eligibility for free school meals has never been higher.
This Government introduced universal infant free school meals and
free school meals in further education. Now, in schools, 1.9
million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for free
school meals.
(Con)
My Lords, demonising fat is the wrong attitude. Clearly, we need
to avoid saturated fats but other fats are actually good for us
and limit obesity, because when fat goes into the duodenum it
releases hormones that inhibit the emptying of the stomach,
giving us the feeling of being full, so we stop eating. Fat
should not be demonised by the Department of Health or anyone
else.
(Con)
I am not aware that anyone is demonising fat, but there is a very
serious issue about education. The percentage of children who are
either overweight or obese rose very sharply during lockdown. We
must absolutely do everything we can in our schools and health
services. We also need to make sure that parents really
understand the implications of what they feed their children.
(Lab)
My Lords, last year research from Imperial College found that
ultra-processed foods accounted for 62% of the calories in school
meals. Given the widespread obesity epidemic in our schools—that
the Minister recognises has got worse since lockdown—and an NHS
buckling under demand it can no longer meet, can the Minister
tell the House when the Government will next update the current
school food standards to include guidance on ultra-processed
foods and other foods that could be contributing to the obesity
epidemic?
(Con)
Just to make sure that I have not confused the House, levels of
obesity and children who are overweight rose very sharply during
lockdown. Levels have come back, depending on the age group, to
pretty much where they were pre lockdown—I just say that for
clarity. I cannot say when the standards might be reviewed, but
they are designed to give those in schools, and those supplying
schools with school food, enough flexibility to make choices to
give children healthy meals. As we heard in an earlier Question,
there is also an opportunity here to make sure that we keep waste
to an absolute minimum, so that the investment can go into the
quality of food for children.
(Lab)
But is it not true that in the days of the coalition Government,
the regulations on school meals were weakened, particularly in
2014? That weakening of the regulations allowed much more sugar
to be added to some of the school meals.
(Con)
The regulations were updated in 2014—
(Lab)
Weakened!
(Con)
—but I do not accept that they were weakened. As I say, there is
sensible flexibility to allow schools to respond to their local
community.
(LD)
My Lords, the findings of the House of Lords Select Committee
report Hungry for Changefound that to pay for government healthy
eating recommendations, the poorest 10% of UK households would
need to spend 74% of their post-housing disposable income on
food. The report also found that the cost of healthy eating did
not factor in the calculation of benefit rates. Would the
Minister urge her colleagues in government to make sure that
realistic benefit rates pay for a healthy diet, even for the
poorest people?
(Con)
I am more than happy to share those figures on benefit rates with
my noble friend sitting next to me on the Front Bench. More
seriously, there are so many variables in this. I remind the
House of the scale of support that this Government have given
every household over 2022-23 and 2023-24: an average of over
£3,300 per UK household.
