Question reference: S5W-36033
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 11 March 2021
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Current status: Answered by John Swinney on 18 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to (a) farmers and (b) food producers to ensure that school meals provide high dietary benefits.
Answer
All school meals must meet the nutrient standards set out in The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020, ensuring that children and young people are provided with an appropriate amount of energy and nutrients from their lunches. We engaged extensively with the National Farming Union for Scotland, as the representative organisation, whilst the new school food and drink Regulations were being developed and the accompanying statutory guidance was being drafted.
We also carried out a public consultation on the proposed Regulations during the summer of 2018 which received over 1,350 responses, including from organisations representing the farming community and the food and drink industry.
We continue to work closely with stakeholders as preparations are being made for the implementation of the new Regulations on 8 April 2021.