Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the updated school food standards will include measures to increase the intake of UK-grown (a) fruit, (b) vegetables and (c) pulses in school meals.

The department is engaging with stakeholders on revising the School Food Standards, to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history. The current Standards state one or more portions of vegetables as an accompaniment and one or more portions of fruit must be provided every day and at least three different fruits and three different vegetables each week. Schools are responsible for their school meals service and how and where they choose to buy their produce. Schools can voluntarily follow the government buying standards.

Additionally, the National Procurement Policy Statement, published in February 2025, underscores the government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts, which we believe our high quality British producers are well-placed to meet.

Alongside this, the department’s Food Strategy will deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system, boosting food security, improving health, ensuring economic growth, and delivering environmental sustainability.

As with all aspects of the School Food Standards review, the department will consider our approaches to procurement of UK-grown produce.