News

The CBI has today launched a report entitled ‘Open Access’ which focuses on public services reform. It has identified that more than £22.6 billion can be saved by opening up more public service delivery to independent providers.

One of the named public services where it has implied that significant savings could be made through this approach is school catering.

The CBI Report claims that 73% of school catering is still monopolised by the public sector. As the representative body for the school food industry, LACA’s membership comprises both private and public sector providers and this has been the case since its inception in 1990.

As such, the organisation takes a unified approach to the provision of healthy school lunches and is regarded by all its membership as the collective voice of the industry.

Anne Bull, LACA National Chair says: “Despite the comments made by CBI Director-General, John Cridland, school meal contracts have been open to competitive tendering for many years.

“Local authority in-house catering services, private contractors and individual schools have equal opportunity to tender for the provision of school meal services and each has to be able to meet the strict specifications on quality and price.

“Given the tough economic climate and the fact that families are struggling to make ends meet, it is imperative that school catering costs are kept as low as possible in order to provide a high quality, nutritious and value for money service that parents can afford.

“In some cases, school meal contracts are not always viable for private sector providers who have an obligation to shareholders and who have to achieve greater profit margins than those in the public sector.

“As to Mr Cridland’s comment ‘is it really necessary for three quarters of all our schools to be worrying about catering?’, the answer is absolutely they should.

“Schools are required by law to provide a hot daily school meal for pupils and a free school meals service for those whose families are eligible.

“All food provided in maintained schools in England is expected to comply with the Government’s Nutritional Standards which is also the responsibility of the school as well as the providers.

“For many children, a school meal is the only proper meal of the day and as such can help their general health and wellbeing. Given the need to reduce obesity levels by improving diets and lifestyles, it is arguable that schools, as the seat of learning, have an essential duty to also help children learn about good nutrition and food.

“In addition to the health and welfare benefits of schools meals, there is proven evidence of their contribution to improving pupil attendance and increasing academic and physical attainment levels.

“All should be highly persuasive factors for head teachers to not only worry about school catering but, in order to gain maximum benefits, to actively engage with their school food service as an integral part of the school’s ethos.”