School Food Trust among the 177 quangos 'facing axe'

The future of quangos has been in question for some time now - with there being continual concern about what will happen to these bodies as the new government repeatedley suggests a "cull" on them. In an interview with School Caterer magazine this month, Judy Hargardon, chief executive of the School Food Trust (SFT) told us: "Until the government announces the outcome of its comprehensive spending review we simply don't know what the funding situation will be." Sandra Russell, chairman, Local Authority Caterers Association says the School Food Trust should be recognised for its "significant contribution" to the school meals service: "The School Food Trust has been highly effective in establishing a framework for the introduction of an intensive improvement programme, launched by the previous Government, for the provision of food in schools. "The Local Authority Caterers Association has worked closely with the School Food Trust in many areas since its inception and believes that it should be acknowledged for having made a significant contribution to the transformation that has taken place over the past five years within the school meals service in this country. Thousands of children and young people nationwide are now enjoying highly nutritious, freshly prepared school meals and in the past year, school meal uptake has risen in both Primary and Secondary schools for the first time since 2005. "However, in the current economic climate and with public spending cuts affecting every corner of society, we all have to be realistic about where savings can be made. The School Food Trust was set up to implement the new Standards, a job that has largely been fulfilled. A firm foundation has been created for the school meals service of the future and it is those at the frontline of services that must now ensure the standard and quality of school meals continues, despite ever tightening Local Authority budgets." Russell believes "pulling the plug" on the Trust will raise big concerns for the future: "Whilst the future of the School Food Trust is at this point uncertain, LACA's resolve is strengthened in its drive to ensure that the hard work of the past five years is not undone. The School Lunch Grant is scheduled to end in March 2011 and with the news of the threat of so many public bodies being axed, there is even greater concern over the potential impact on Local Authorities and their ability to sustain a quality school meals service should funding be severed in 2011." "School meals have an important contribution to make to altering eating habits. With emerging evidence that healthier school meals are contributing to improved learning and behavior, it would be very short-sighted to pull the plug on funding now. "What children eat at school represents one small step on the road to improving their health, reducing the bigger obesity problem and in the longer term by decreasing the NHS costs, this country's national debt. LACA strongly believes cutting funding to the school meals service would be one cut too many and too big a price to pay in terms of the future health and prosperity of this nation." And as well as The SFT, The Telegraph has revealed that a further 94 of these bodies are under threat of being scrapped, four will be privatised and 129 will be merged. The details emerged after The Telegraph found a Cabinet Office list compiled this week, while 350 other bodies have won a reprieve. The list discloses for the first time the extent of the new government's plans for the "bonfire of quangos" designed to save the taxpayer billions of pounds. Thousands of jobs will go as part of the reforms. The biggest cuts concern the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with more than 50 bodies to be abolished and the Department of Health, where about 30 bodies will be cut or have their functions transferred back to department. These include the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the Health Protection Agency and the