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Executive summary
Background and Objectives
1. The Scottish Executive is developing proposals for legislation to improve the diets and general good health of Scotland's school children. The proposed legislation would place duties and powers upon local authorities to meet nutritional standards for food and drink they provide for school children, promote the uptake of school meals (including free school meals) and ensure schools are health promoting environments.
2. In order to inform the development of the legislation, the Scottish Executive conducted a consultation on the proposals between 4 May and 31 July 2006. The consultation document was sent to a wide range of stakeholders (see Annex 1). The focus of the consultation was on the 6 key elements of the proposed legislation:
- a duty for local authorities to ensure that food and drinks which they provide in schools, including nurseries, meet defined nutrient standards
- setting defined nutrient standards for food and drinks arranged or funded by local authorities for children attending independent schools
- a duty on local authorities to promote the uptake of school meals in their schools, including free school meals
- a duty upon local authorities to ensure that those taking free school meals can do so anonymously, as far as practicable
- a power for local authorities to provide children in local authority schools with free drinks, fruit, vegetables, bread or cereal based snacks which meet defined nutrient standards
- a duty being placed upon Scottish Ministers and local authorities to endeavour to ensure that all local authority schools are health promoting schools.
Findings
3. There were 371 submissions received from a wide range of stakeholders. Most respondents were from the broad education sector (42%), individuals (23%) and health related stakeholders (15%).
4. Respondents were very supportive of the legislation, with 96% being positive towards the proposals overall, 1% negative and 3% neutral.
5. There were also very high levels of support for each of the 6 individual elements of the legislation. No more than 4% of respondents disagreed with any one of these elements.
6. A significant proportion of respondents provided additional comments on the individual proposals. These centred on suggested changes to the proposed legislation and its practical and financial consequences. A wide variety of comments were raised under these themes, but a number of recurring issues were identified.
7. In particular, views were expressed on suggested changes to the proposed legislation or clarification of the provisions of the proposed legislation. These included:
- bans or limitations on some foods and drinks banning (or at the very least) limiting mobile food vendors in or near schools
- extending the nutrition standards to cover food brought into school by pupils
- also making private sector pupils subject to the provisions and powers of the legislation
- extending the remit of schools to promote good health and nutrition standards beyond the school premises and extending, or linking, the Bill to other initiatives on nutritional standards and health promotion, particularly the need for more physical activity (or play time in the case of younger children)
- extending the provision of free school meals to everyone to ensure all have the same opportunities for healthy eating and to avoid the potential stigma currently attached to claiming them
- tightening up the terminology used in some places to show a genuine commitment to improving healthy eating.
8. The key practical implications of the legislation were felt to be:
- the need for central monitoring of food and drink brought to school and on the effective promotion by schools and local authorities
- the need to draw up a list of the kinds of food and drink to be served for schools to refer to (including the use of fresh, organic and/or locally sourced foods)
- the need to accompany its implementation with the teaching of cookery skills, home economics and principles of good health (including to parents and carers)
- determining the most appropriate access times to consume free drinks, fruit, vegetables, bread or cereal based snacks in school hours and ensuring that the level of access did not lead to risks to oral health
- the issue of the source of the additional funding that would be required.
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