Malcolm Moss (North East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures he plans to take in response to trends in secondary school meal take-up following the introduction of new standards for school food.

Parmjit Dhanda (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Education and Skills; Gloucester, Labour)

The Secretary of State has asked the School Food Trust, a non-departmental public body established by the DfES as its key delivery partner for school food, to develop a strategy to increase demand for school lunches by at least four percentage points by March 2008 and 10 percentage points by autumn 2009. These targets apply across the maintained sector.

The trust is taking forward a range of measures to help improve take-up. Examples include publication early in June of guidance to help schools improve the lunchtime experience. The guide provides recommendations and "top tips" on providing a positive meal experience for children, young people and schools. The trust has also published guidance for schools and parents on the new standards for school food and has good practice case studies on its website.