Alexandra Blair (left), Times Education Correspondent, examines how the Government is offering to help improve school meals in the wake of the poplular television series, Jamie's School Dinners

What is the Government planning to do to improve nutrition in schools?

The Labour Party is launching the School Meals Trust, first announced by Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, a month ago. That emphasises parents' rights to demand better food for their children, with the offer of a ballot to change the menus at any school that refuses to comply.

Is this purely a response to the Jamie Oliver series?

School dinners have become an increasingly hot political potato since Jamie's School Dinners on Channel 4 hit the air a month ago. However his key demand that the Government should double funding so that more better food is placed on the plate appears to have hit deaf ears. Currently an average of 37p is spent per meal on school dinners, compared to 74p for prisoners and 54p for army rations.

Will this new body make any difference to schools across the country?

Although the new School Meals Trust will include representatives of the food industry, caterers, nutritionists, interest groups and parents, crucially no extra funding is being promised - or, at least, not yet.

From September, there will also be minimum nutritional standards for the amount of salt, fat and sugars in school meals and Ofsted will be including school food in their inspections.

The Government says that there is enough money in the system and it is up to parents to apply pressure on schools who in turn will demand that the catering companies change their menu, local authority by local authority. The Local Authority Catering Association and large catering firms says that they cannot offer better food on the money available.

What changes has Scotland pioneered?

In Scotland ministers from the health, education and communities department asked a body to investigate school meals and establish a national nutritional standard for school meals across the board. Last summer they pledged to spend £63.5 million in schools over three years, starting with primary and nursery schools in conjunction with a programme of physical activities for children. One school has introduced an organic food policy, most have banned chips except for one day a week, and they have also rolled out swipe cards so that school meals are not simply ostensibly for those who cannot afford to go out and buy a chip butty.

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