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In 2006, the Scottish Executive developed draft legislation to improve the health and nutrition of the country’s children.

The proposed bill suggested that:

• A duty is placed on local authorities to ensure that food and drinks supplied in local authority schools meet defined nutrient standards.
• A duty is placed on local authorities to promote uptake of school meals, in particular free school meals, and to ensure that those receiving free school meals can do so anonymously, as far as is practicable.
• local authorities are provided with the power to give children, either free of charge or with a charge, drinks, fruit, vegetables, bread or cereal based snacks within defined nutrient standards, at any time of the day.
• A duty is placed on Scottish Ministers and local authorities to try to ensure that all local authority schools are health promoting environments.

Cancer Research UK responded, stressing the importance of schools taking a lead in the promotion of healthy eating messages, to ensure that children learn about what constitutes a healthy diet and that children are offered healthy food and drink choices throughout the school day.

For more information, please read the consultation response in full.