UK gov hits back against criticism on controversial food report

15 Jun 2022 --- After a backlash against the UK government’s long awaited food strategy, the department for environment food and rural affairs has hit back over assertions it is not helping out enough children with free school meals.

Speaking to NutritionInsight, the government explains it set an income threshold level for which children could be eligible for the meals. It asserts it is confident this approach will enable more children to benefit while the solution remains affordable.

Nonetheless, Stephanie Slater, founder and chief executive at School Food Matters, says: “we do not agree with the assertion that a ‘threshold must be set somewhere,’ nor do we agree the level selected helps affordability and deliverability for schools.”

Campaigners disagree with including a threshold for income levels.“Missed opportunity”
The government argues that effective welfare benefits should encourage people to work, while receiving benefits, to avoid putting people in a position where they cannot afford to work. This is one key aspect of the free school meals funding and what it will deliver.

“For a typical family on universal credit, the current £7,400 (US$ 8,944) earned income threshold, depending on exact circumstances, equates to an annual household income of between £18,000 (US$ 21,764) and £24,000 (US$ 29,013) when benefits are taken into account,” notes the government.

Slater asserts this is not helping enough children. “We know that one in three children living in poverty in England is not eligible for a free school meal and that food is the only element of the school day for which children are means-tested. The government has once again missed the opportunity to guarantee that no child misses out on the good nutrition they need to thrive.” 

The government argues that the most disadvantaged are those in most need for support, unemployed or with the lowest incomes. They will continue to review all free school meal eligibility, focusing on those who need them the most.

“However, from March 24 this year, we have made permanent the extension of free school meals eligibility to include some children of groups who have no recourse to public funds, subject to specified income thresholds. This permanent extension has been in place since the start of the summer term.” 

Insufficient funding boost?
The government also announced that schools will receive the uplifted universal infant free school meals funding, backdated to the first of April 2022. 

“This will raise the rate per meal to £2.41 (US$2.91).” The government explains that full allocations will be published later this month.

School Food Matters however lambasted the development, saying “the increase is only about 3%, nowhere near inflation. The new amount also does not meet the funding level set for benefits-related free school meals, which is currently around £2.47 (US$3.3).”

“School food’s insufficient and inefficient funding system is one of the reasons we are calling for a root and branch review of the school food system. We urge the Secretary of State for Education to take another look at school food funding, and listen to the calls from the experts on the ground on this issue.”

A wave of contradictionsThe government states to have adapted Dimbleby's approach even though he criticized the report.
Previously mentioned adaptations were found to be missing in the report, such as restricting food with high fats and adding taxes to salt and sugar. The UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated taxes would only exacerbate the problem by pushing food prices up. 

The government did mention that they are adopting the recommendations of Henry Dimbleby, the lead advisor of the department, on eating and learning through the "school cooking revolution". Nonetheless, Dimbleby himself has voiced his opposition to the government’s published strategy.

The department stressed that individuals should be educated on food choices at a young age because of the “far-reaching implications for later in life” caused by early childhood experiences. Therefore, they aim to promote a “whole-school approach” to food, to create collaboration between teachers, caterers and governors to reach “a healthier school food culture.”

“It’s disappointing that in the four months since the announcement, the government’s response to the National Food Strategy simply rehashes the earlier announcements. It would have been encouraging to see more detail on how the new funding for food education will be spent,” says Slater.

“We’re particularly disappointed that the government has brushed over Henry Dimbleby’s recommendation that stated: Cookery and nutrition lessons should be inspected with the same rigor as math or English lessons,” Slater concludes.

By Beatrice Wihlander