A CATERING association has called on the Government to force councils to provide hot meals as part of new national guidelines.

The request comes just months after West Sussex County Council axed hot meals in a bid to save £500,000 a year.

More than 500 staff were put out of work and pupils across the county now have packed lunches instead of hot school meals.

Speaking at a House of Commons Education Select Committee yesterday, catering consultants urged the Government to ensure all pupils got a hot meal daily as part of their school education. The committee was taking evidence on proposed nutritional standards for schools in England first published earlier this year. The guidelines are due to come into force from 2001.

Ian Wasson, chairman of the Local Authority Caterers Association, said that stigma put many children off taking free school meals and many more would take them up if Government guidelines insisted school lunches should be hot ones.

Mr Wasson said: "We would prefer to see a duty to provide a hot meal."

Around 2.8 million children are entitled to free school meals nationally because their parents are on benefit - but only 1.8 million take them up.

Caterers told MPs the children missing out on meals included those who needed them most.

West Sussex County Council said it had no intention of re-introducing hot meals.

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