Call for early change in school meals tendering

Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) chairman John Davis is urging the new Labour Government to bring an early end to compulsory competitive tendering (CCT) in the school meals sector.

Mr Davis, who is also catering manager for Shropshire County Council, said that although April 1999 was being mooted as the end date for CCT, he was keen to see it finish at the first available opportunity.

"CCT is all about the lowest price. Price is a key factor, but the quality of school meals should also be taken into account," he said.

Mr Davis made the call as LACA was heralding the success of the fourth National School Meals Week, held last week.

Around 20,000 state schools participated in the event by organising activities and promotions aimed at driving up sales of school meals.

Only four out of 10 schoolchildren currently buy school meals. LACA aims to raise this to 60% in the long term. "We want to get across the message that school meals can be healthy and imaginative and very good value for money," said Mr Davis.

Events organised for National School Meals Week included visits by leading sports celebrities to Birmingham primary schools, and by actress Fiona Fullerton to the Sacred Heart Junior School in Hammersmith, west London.

Gwynedd Council arranged for Peter Jackson, the head chef at the Hotel Maes-y-neuadd in Harlech and manager of the Welsh National Culinary Team, to prepare lunch for the pupils of a local primary school.