LACA supports Jamie’s criticism of Coalition over school food

In it, the association, which represents 135 local authorities serving 3 million meals a day in 22,000 schools, agrees that the Government is 'watering down policies designed to ensure school food is healthy' and says it shares the celebrity chef's frustration that the Government does not require a single set of nutritional standards to apply to all schools. Lynda Mitchell, LACA Chair, believes there is now a serious risk that the progress made in improving school food over the last six years will be de-railed by the Government refusal to enforce universal nutritional standards for all pupils. "The inconsistency in the application of standards will inevitably lead to a significant negative effect on the school meals service, potentially wiping out the years of effort by school caterers as well as the considerable investment that has been injected into its improvement," she said. "LACA has been campaigning since early last year to persuade the Government to re-consider its policy but to no avail so far. "In April 2011, LACA wrote to all MPs calling on them to take action against the exemption of academies and free schools. LACA stressed that with academies being open for longer hours, providing a wider range of meals from breakfast to after-school food, it was vital that the standards apply equally to these establishments to ensure parents remain confident that school food remains the best possible option for their children. "Despite approaches by LACA to the Education Secretary and other ministers, the concerns of school caterers, as well as those of many other influential bodies and individuals, have fallen on deaf ears. "Despite the Education Secretary's confidence that academy head teachers can be trusted, LACA has advised the Government, both directly and through the media, that the standards are already being breached or relaxed in some academies and free schools to the detriment of their pupils." "Without positive legislation to ensure that the same standards apply for all schools and academies, nutritional standards will fade into obscurity over time and the progress made in improving the eating habits of children and young people will be undermined." "Jamie has spoken out vociferously through the media as well as directly to ministers, about the threat this situation has to the future of healthy school meals. "Many of those in the industry who have worked so hard to provide the world class service we have, are equally frustrated that a two tier system is being allowed to develop and can see how this could impact on not only the provision of demonstrably healthier meals but also on the future of the industry. "He is clearly not about to let this issue, which he clearly feels very strongly about, drop. Quite the contrary, he appears more determined and passionate than ever before to bring his influence to bear to safeguard the healthy school food revolution. And so is LACA. "We welcome Jamie's continued commitment to school meals and we are right beside him in the fight to persuade the Government to amend the regulations and to provide one set of standards for all schools." Under the heading 'Jamie Oliver accuses coalition of 'killing' Britons with health policies', March 6th's Guardian newspaper reported him as saying: "We are lacking real leadership in Britain, sadly, and it's killing us – literally. That whole Government – they lack any imagination." Referring to the Government's approach to the growing obesity crisis, the chef and food campaigner went further than his previous criticism of health secretary Andrew Lansley and education secretary Michael Gove, whom Oliver has accused of watering down policies designed to ensure school food is healthy. He was launching an addition to his network of Ministry of Food centres.