Consultants are being paid between £300 to £350 a day to advise schools on healthy eating.

A leading West Sussex County councillor said taxpayers would be outraged to learn of the cost at a time when the authority was cutting spending.

Dr James Walsh, who previously chaired a childhood obesity taskforce prior to the council reintroducing hot school meals, praised The Argus for its research.

He currently serves on a committee looking at the issue of healthy eating and said he had no idea that consultants were being employed.

Dr Walsh said: "I am grateful to you for turning up this figure, otherwise it wouldn't have come to light. I think it is an outrageous price to be charging bearing in mind what nurses, policemen and indeed teachers are getting paid.

"It is really not something that needs to be done by expensively-paid consultants.

"The contract for hot school meals has been let, meals have been tested by councillors, teachers and parents, and have been extraordinarily well received. It is virtually selling itself.

"For the life of me I am not quite sure what the consultants are doing.

"The only consultants I can see a place for is to advise on how each school building can be adapted to put in the necessary kitchen equipment."

Coun Steve Waight, a member of the county's Cabinet, said: "Depending on which consultant we used, the daily rate varied between £300 and £350 per day."

Earlier, the county council said it cost £30,000 a year, some of it Government money, to employ consultants.

A spokesman said: "We do have a healthy school team but it only has five full-time posts and there are occasions when we do use consultants to supplement their work.

"Fees are in line with the costs for the local authority staff with similar qualifications and expertise.

"The reason for this work is that we are actively working to help our 299 primary and secondary schools achieve national Healthy Schools Status and one of the four elements of this is healthy eating.

"We only use consultants when essential. They offer expert training and advice in schools and would visit several schools in one day. Part of the funding for this comes from various Government grants.

"Healthy eating is an important part of the agenda in schools, and, given national concerns over obesity among young people, is well supported by parents.

"We currently have 59 schools achieving National Healthy Schools Status with a further 150 secondary and primary schools working towards this status.

"We always insist of getting best value when we use consultants. The healthy schools work is with a large number of pupils and schools, and is an investment in children's future."

Last year, the county council announced a U-turn on hot meals, having previously scrapped them in mainstream schools.

Scolarest was awarded the contract for primary schools, using microwave and steam technology.

By April 2009 all West Sussex primary schools will be able to provide a hot meal if they wish.

The contract is being funded from the existing school meals budget of £2.2million, plus Government grants, which are estimated to be £1.7million over three years.

Coun Waight believed it was good value for money.

He said: "We only ever engage consultants after ensuring that we don't have the expertise/capacity to undertake the work in house and that it is not cost effective to employ full/part time staff on a permanent/fixed term contract."

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