Education Secretary Ruth Kelly pledges 280m over three years for school meals and nutritional standards will be reintroduced. The government claimed that this matter had been on its agenda, although the announcement coincided with the end of TV chef Jamie Oliver's 18-month campaign and his delivery of a 271,000 signature petition on the matter to Tony Blair, who in turn promised to make education Labour's number one priority.
The food budget will account for £220m (50p on primary school meals and 60p on secondaries). The £60m remainder goes towards a new School Food Trust to support improvement within schools. A panel of experts will deliver the nutritional standards, which will be mandatory by September 2006. See the DfES and Jamie Oliver's webpages below...
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2005_0044
http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/J/jamies_school_dinners/index.html