Hansard

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

24 Oct 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I want to ask about snacks—and I begin by saying that I am not an advocate of the Boris Johnson snacks policy.As a former teacher, I am slightly concerned about the idea of pupils having something to eat at any time of the day. That seems to be offering an open goal to pupils ...

Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con): Con Chamber

24 Jan 2007

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

My initial reaction to the bill was a straight question: why do we need legislation to decide what our kids should eat? Was that not the aim of the hungry for success and health-promoting schools policies, which appear to have failed to increase uptake of school lunches? Howev...

Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con): Con Chamber

23 Nov 2006

School Bus Safety

I thank Alex Neil for initiating this worthwhile debate. School bus safety for our primary and secondary students is sometimes overlooked, but it is extremely important. The Education Committee refers safety concerns to the Department for Transport time and again because the m...

Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con): Con Committee

22 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

My comment is about a point that came up in previous evidence. We should not rush to the assumption that children that leave the school premises will always eat rubbish—many children go out and eat healthily. It is important that we encourage as many children as possible to st...

Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con): Con Committee

15 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

As the good people of Shetland reminded us, the bill is about meals and snacks at school. What benefits will the proposed power for education authorities to provide snacks at school, either free or at a charge, bring to children?

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

15 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

As we all know, the bill is not just about school lunches but snacks. What benefits to children will the proposed power of education authorities to provide snacks—either free or at a charge—bring?

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

01 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

My next question is on snacks. The bill offers local authorities fairly wide-ranging powers on the provision of breakfasts and snacks, possibly for all pupils. What benefits will those powers bring to children?

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

08 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I will move on to snacks. Under the bill, local authorities will have the power to provide pupils with food or snacks at any time of the day. What benefits to children will the proposed power provide?

Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con): Con Chamber

14 Mar 2007

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill

We on this side of the chamber welcome the bill, which in partnership with parents and schools can only be of immense benefit to the health and well-being of future generations. I thank the clerks and the bill team for their support in preparing the bill.We all know the backgr...

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

22 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

What happens outwith lunch time if activities take place before or after school? As schools are being given the opportunity to offer snacks as well, is it possible for pupils to get nutritious food when they participate in activities before or after school?

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

22 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

This question is for John Watson in particular. Why do you suggest that authorities should be able to provide snacks outwith normal school hours?

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

24 Oct 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Right. Are there any practical difficulties that local authorities might face in making use of the power to provide snacks?

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

08 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I would like to touch on the implications for education authorities. What issues do you think education authorities should take into account when making use of the power? I come from a rural area where a lot of the schools do not have kitchens and the food is transported to th...

Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con): Con Chamber

15 Feb 2007

Education

The debate has been good. As another former teacher, I have experienced HMIE inspections, which I found to be fair, balanced and comprehensive, with any identified shortcomings followed up, often with necessary staff changes, as Peter Peacock said. HMIE's responsibility runs f...

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

08 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I congratulate Hugh Raven on the food for life programme. Could you become a victim of your own popularity? I do not know whether you have experienced this in East Ayrshire, but many children complain about having to queue for school lunches. The big challenge we have is to en...

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

06 Dec 2006

Schools<br />(Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

The point was purely on the principle of trying to engage kids and get them to take school lunches.What impact do you think the duty on education authorities to promote school lunches will have on the uptake of school meals, considering the range of factors that influence whet...

Dave Petrie: Con Chamber

24 Jan 2007

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I accept that stigma is a problem and was about to address the issue. I have taught in schools that operate a card system, to ensure anonymity, but let us make no mistake—the children know which kids are getting free school lunches. A lot of kids are not bothered about getting...

Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con): Con Committee

08 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Yes, I want to ask about the thorny issue of the uptake of school meals. The hungry for success programme has not been a resounding success in getting more kids to take school lunches. Did the expert working group take account of the potential for higher standards resulting in...

Dave Petrie: Con Chamber

14 Mar 2007

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

My view is that we can and should actively encourage children to stay in school at lunch time so that they can get involved in various activities and, one would hope, take up school lunches. Having worked in schools recently, I have seen the state of the resources in schools a...

Dave Petrie: Con Chamber

22 Mar 2007

Education

We should clarify that nothing of the sort could happen until there was full independence.We are faced with a number of options. The Lib-Lab pact is prepared to invest money, but it has failed to raise attainment levels. The SNP is prepared to spend money, but it would not hav...

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

01 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I want to pick up on what Judith Gillespie said about rural schools. I am sure she is right about fairly remote schools, but I taught in Oban high school and Lochaber high school—

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

15 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I represent the Highlands and Islands, where we have the unusual situation of kids being picked up by bus sometimes before 8 o'clock in the morning. I do not know how practical it would be to provide breakfast when they arrive at school, just before they are taught. If the sch...

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

06 Dec 2006

Schools<br />(Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Given the recommendations in "Hungry for Success" that are aimed at improving the uptake of school meals, why are there still significant variations in the uptake of school meals between education authorities and between schools in the same education authority?

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

13 Feb 2007

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Having witnessed limited resources in schools fairly recently—tattered textbooks, lack of information technology facilities and so on—I know that local authorities are struggling financially. I still remain to be persuaded that parents who can afford to pay for their children'...

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

05 Dec 2006

“Workforce Plus” and “More Choices, More Chances”

I would like to follow up on what Ken Milroy and Jim Sweeney have said about early engagement. I am a former teacher, and I think that we should be engaging with kids at school a lot earlier. I have experienced some schools that have provided kids with good vocational opportun...

Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con): Con Chamber

13 Sep 2006

Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Any issue concerning children must be tackled sensitively and examined with the utmost scrutiny. As other members have said, whatever decision we reach today must be driven by the best interests of the child. As a parent and a former teacher and children's panel member, I am o...

Dave Petrie: Con Chamber

23 Nov 2006

School Bus Safety

I had a major dispute with Argyll and Bute Council, which tried to alter the mileage limit for school bus travel from two miles to one mile. Would it be possible to actively encourage a fixing of the mileage limit for free bus travel, if not to put it on a statutory base?

Dave Petrie: Con Chamber

24 Jan 2007

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I am sorry; I would struggle to finish if I did. There is talk of banning foods. We need to influence the culture of nutrition in schools, but we should not be heavy handed—let us take a carrot and not a stick approach. Banning certain foods seems a little too prescriptive, pa...

Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con): Con Chamber

14 Mar 2007

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I have heard the arguments and I have listened carefully to the debate, especially Christine Grahame's speech.My major concern is the number of children who do not take up the free school meals to which they are currently entitled. We need to consider that issue seriously. I g...

Dave Petrie: Con Chamber

14 Mar 2007

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I am concentrating on lunches.I can see the arguments, but I believe that school resources will suffer if parents who can afford to pay for their children's school lunches are not required to pay for them.

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

24 Oct 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Good. Finally, what are the reasons for not allowing free school meals to be provided for every pupil, as some of the consultation responses suggested?

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

24 Oct 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I have experience of a swipe-card system from the most recent school in which I taught. Such a debit system is a great way of preventing stigma. Kids stick money on to it and build up money, while kids who get free meals simply hand over the card and the other kids will not kn...

Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con): Con Committee

01 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

The Executive has set the target that every school should become health promoting by 2007. It does not say when in 2007—I imagine around May. How realistic is that target?

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

01 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

That was not the thrust of what I was trying to do.I have another quick supplementary. From a teaching perspective, if schools offered lunch-time activities such as sports, would they give kids an incentive to stay within the school boundaries to take advantage of what was on ...

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

15 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Are there practical and staff resource issues that education authorities may face if they seek to make full use of the power? I am thinking of issues such as the need to extend the school day so that kids can come in for breakfast, the need for extra catering staff, and the sa...

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

15 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

You said that you had breakfast clubs, which might have resource implications, given that the school would have to open early. Would authorities face any practical or staff resource difficulties in making full use of the power? I am thinking along the lines of extra staff, suc...

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

22 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I agree that breakfast is very important. I represent a constituency with a lot of rural schools. Do you foresee a problem for children in rural areas who have to leave home very early to get to school? Will they have time for breakfast before classes start?

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

22 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

You are suggesting that education authorities should have a role during school holidays.

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

22 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Are you firmly of the opinion that uptake can be increased by providing free school meals?

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

22 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I speak as a former—hopefully fun—maths teacher and a great fan of extracurricular activities. Can I take it from what you are saying that if more activities are offered over lunch, it is more likely that pupils will stay in school for lunch? That is what I believe in as well.

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

22 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Has that proved to be true in your school?

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

22 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Is there a problem with pupils going out of the school to buy fizzy drinks?

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

22 Nov 2006

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Are the vast majority of pupils at your school happy about that?

Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con): Con Committee

06 Dec 2006

Schools<br />(Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

How would you respond to the concern of some witnesses that implementation of the regulations could lead to a drop in the uptake of school meals, particularly in secondary schools, bearing in mind the fact that the hungry for success initiative has not exactly resulted in a ma...

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

06 Dec 2006

Schools<br />(Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

That is a fair point. As I have said before, and as has been mentioned in evidence, if you can introduce attractions for kids to stay in school at lunch time, that will increase uptake, but then there is the queuing issue.

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

06 Dec 2006

Schools<br />(Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

You are suggesting that kids are queuing at chip shops, but we heard in evidence that it should not be assumed that all kids who choose to eat outside of school are eating unhealthy food.

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

06 Dec 2006

Schools<br />(Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Are there any lessons to be learned from the independent sector, which manages to keep its kids in school all lunch time?

Dave Petrie: Con Committee

13 Feb 2007

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

All that I am saying is that there are people who can afford to pay for school lunches, and it would put unnecessary pressure on local authorities to relieve them of that.

Dave Petrie: Con Chamber

17 Jan 2007

Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I agree.In July 2004, the Education Committee found Disclosure Scotland application delays of up to 12 weeks. In September 2002, a backlog crisis in England and Wales caused thousands of children to be sent home from school as staff were unable to work. Unvetted staff were the...

Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con): Con Chamber

18 Jan 2007

Home Smart

I congratulate Linda Fabiani on securing this important debate.I want to start by discussing a bit of background. As we all know, the documentary "Cathy Come Home" had its 40th anniversary in December. Because of that, the Scottish Council for Single Homeless—which I will call...

Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con): Con Chamber

07 Mar 2007

Football (Sectarianism)

I thank Alasdair Morrison, as well as other members, for bringing up this important issue. I recall with horror my only visit—in the early 1970s—to an old firm match, when the legendary Jim Baxter returned to Ibrox. I found the atmosphere of hate between the supporters electri...

Dave Petrie: Con Chamber

14 Mar 2007

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill

It seems illogical to me that parents who can afford to pay for school lunches should be relieved of that requirement when there are significant resource issues in schools.We fully support the bill and look forward to its early implementation.

Dave Petrie: Con Chamber

22 Mar 2007

Education

I had not realised that we have reached such an agreement, but I look forward to sending the minister a letter.If the results of the extra money that has been made available are not good enough, I want to know why that money is being wasted.The Executive wants to talk up the s...