The long-awaited school meals review report is set for publication “in the coming days,” according to the Education Minister.
However, the delay in its release sparked a grilling from her predecessor.
Daphne Caine told the House of Keys that while the report was due over a year ago, competing departmental priorities meant redactions were necessary before publication.
“The redaction process has now taken place, and final checks are being undertaken ahead of publication,” she said.
Mrs Caine said the report was hopefully coming out this weekend but she didn’t want to “guarantee” it would be.
Actions
Mrs Caine said that while there had been no official change, “the department has included a number of deliverable actions focusing on the primary school menu within our department plan as a result of the previous review into school meals.”
These actions include reducing food waste, conducting a parental assistance survey, cutting down on ultra-processed food, and increasing the use of local produce.
Former DESC Minister Julie Edge pointed out that Mrs Caine had previously called for the report’s publication before taking office.
She said: “The Minister has just confirmed it’s a few months since she read the report. The report was ready a year ago. It’s taken a year to redact a report, but she’s only read it a few months ago, so we’re still waiting for it.”
Defending her position, Mrs Caine reaffirmed that while the report had been held up, its findings had already begun informing departmental policy.
She said: “This was an internal report. There isn’t a big cover-up. It is really an internal report that informs the department policy, and we are moving forward.”
We previously reported five months ago that the report was due to be published:
4 Comments