Child Poverty Bill

My Lords, I start by declaring an interest. It is unusual when I am wearing my Work and Pensions hat that I have to declare that I am a farmer and grower, but I suppose that I have a particular interest in this subject. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas, for picking up the amendment, because I think that it is an interesting one on which the Committee will find itself largely united in support. We welcome the amendments and entirely support the noble Baroness in her concern for proper nutrition at all ages. We discussed at length the enormous impact that maternal nutrition has on the health of the unborn child. I am mindful of the interesting contributions to that debate made by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, who is not in her place, and the noble Lord, Lord Rea; they added much to the Committee’s knowledge on the subject. I am glad that we now have the opportunity to look at similar effects later in the child’s life. A great deal of academic and government research is available on this topic. The results are clear: eating a nutritionally healthy meal at school improves the child’s behaviour and education results. This appears to be true at all ages. The School Food Trust’s studies last year indicated that children in both primary and secondary school were more likely to concentrate and be engaged and alert in the classroom when changes were made to the food and dining room. The comments of the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas, about the West Norfolk experience reinforced this work. Following Jamie Oliver’s campaign to make school meals healthier, the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Essex University issued a report showing the statistically significant improvement in key stage 2 exam results. It seems clear that, where school meals are done well, they are enormously beneficial to children. This is equally if not more true for the subset of children eligible to receive free school meals, who are even less likely to receive sufficient or proper nutrition at home. I therefore welcome the Minister’s decision to allow for the extension of free school meals to a wider group of lower-income households. I have some questions. The School Food Trust’s studies indicate that there is still a low take-up of free school meals. For example, 16 per cent of primary school pupils are eligible, but the take-up is only 13 per cent. The statistics are even worse for secondary schools, with only 9.5 per cent out of a possible 13 per cent taking up free school meals. Will the Minister comment on these statistics? Are the Government seeking to improve take-up? Has sufficient funding been made available to deal with a 100 per cent take-up of free school meals? It is not just lunch. Research indicates that breakfast can also be enormously important in giving children, especially those from chaotic families, a good start to the day. The alternative is hungry, distracted pupils who are unable to concentrate for half their lessons. Of course free school meal provision is largely a matter for local authorities, but do the Government intend to undertake any more pilots or research in this area?