Chamber
Plenary, 14 Mar 2007
14 Mar 2007 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
Members of the Communities Committee will know that similar amendments were discussed during stage 2, but I make no apology for bringing amendments 1, 22, 3 and 4 to the chamber today. The bill will allow local authorities the flexibility either to provide free breakfasts, fruit and snacks or to charge for them, but it does not allow local authorities to decide whether to charge for school meals. The new section that the Executive has added to the bill says that an education authority can provide anything other than school lunches free of charge. However, as amended, section 53 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 will say that local authorities must charge pupils for lunches. I am not the only person to consider it bizarre that local authorities are allowed the flexibility to determine whether to provide free snacks and breakfasts but will not have the same flexibility to provide free school meals.
If amendment 1 is not agreed to, the bill will provide less flexibility than exists in England. Free school meals have been piloted in Hull. Unfortunately, when the Liberal Democrats took over Hull City Council, they stopped that experiment, much to the annoyance of the Labour members of the council, who wanted the experiment to continue. South of the border, in Hull, Labour MPs, Labour councillors and Labour activists argue for the flexibility to have a pilot in Hull, while in Scotland we are being denied that same flexibility. It is a matter of consistency.
If amendment 1 is not agreed to, the bill will provide less flexibility than exists in England. Free school meals have been piloted in Hull. Unfortunately, when the Liberal Democrats took over Hull City Council, they stopped that experiment, much to the annoyance of the Labour members of the council, who wanted the experiment to continue. South of the border, in Hull, Labour MPs, Labour councillors and Labour activists argue for the flexibility to have a pilot in Hull, while in Scotland we are being denied that same flexibility. It is a matter of consistency.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid):
NPA
The next item of business is stage 3 proceedings on the Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill. Members should have with them SP Bill 68A a...
Section 1—Duties in relation to promotion of health
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
Group 1 is on duties in relation to the promotion of health. Amendment 21 is the only amendment in the group.
Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green):
Green
Part 1 of the bill explains that various bodies, including the Scottish ministers and education authorities, will have duties to ensure that all schools beco...
Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP):
SNP
I pay tribute to my colleague Shona Robison, whose proposal for a member's bill to remove junk food and fizzy drinks from schools was a precursor to the driv...
The Minister for Education and Young People (Hugh Henry):
Lab
Fiona Hyslop's point that teachers need the time to teach and cannot spend all their time compensating for some of the problems that come from the home and f...
Patrick Harvie:
Green
It would be helpful if the minister could explain whether the restrictions on the advertising of products that do not meet the requirements on nutrition exte...
Hugh Henry:
Lab
I will come to that point in a moment.Regardless of whether a school would advertise a product that it could not provide, a health-promoting school should pr...
Patrick Harvie:
Green
I welcome and agree with much of what the minister said about the promotion and advertising of products that do not meet the requirements on nutrition, but I...
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
The question is, that amendment 21 be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Members:
No.
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
There will be a division. Since this is the first division in these proceedings, there will be a five-minute suspension.
Meeting suspended.
On resuming—
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
We will proceed with the division, which will be a 30-second division.
ForAdam, Brian (Aberdeen North) (SNP) Baird, Shiona (North East Scotland) (Green) Ballance, Chris (South of Scotland) (Green) Byrne, Ms Rosemary (South of Sc...
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
The result of the division is: For 29, Against 70, Abstentions 0.
Amendment 21 disagreed to.
Section 6—School meals and snacks
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
Group 2 is on free school meals and snacks. Amendment 1, in the name of Tricia Marwick, is grouped with amendments 6, 22 to 24, 3, 4, 14 to 20, 25, 7, 26 and...
Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP):
SNP
Members of the Communities Committee will know that similar amendments were discussed during stage 2, but I make no apology for bringing amendments 1, 22, 3 ...
Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD):
LD
The member said that the Liberal Democrat administration in Hull stopped the experiment, but that is not the case. The administration continued the experimen...
Tricia Marwick:
SNP
That is not my understanding. I accept what the member says, but it is clear that the experiment was to go no further and that the council was going to stop ...
Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol):
Sol
My amendment 6 proposes universal provision of free, nutritious school meals. We support universal provision because, if we are to give children the chance t...
Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP):
SSP
When we ask parents what they want for their children, one or two will say, "I want wee Kenny to play for Scotland", or, "I'd like Kylie to win ‘The X Factor...
Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I refer to the comments that I made on my amendments at stage 2.During stage 1, Barnardo's Scotland referred to the"difference between the percentage of chil...
Fiona Hyslop:
SNP
There are three arguments for free school meals: the need to tackle poverty; the need to tackle obesity, which is a health issue; and the need to address nut...
Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD):
LD
Will the member give way?
Fiona Hyslop:
SNP
No, I will not.Let us take a bold step now and say that we want universal provision of school meals in this country. However, let us take a pragmatic approac...
Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab):
Lab
We are discussing a progressive piece of legislation that could be made much better if we supported amendments that would enable the universal provision of f...