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Deprivation in Northeast England 131

2004, the Department of Health issued a milestone white paper, “Choosing
Health,” in which it committed to “improve nutrition in school meals” by revis-
ing school meal standards to reduce salt and fat consumption and enhance fruit
and vegetable intake, to be enforced through Ofsted inspections; applying new
healthy eating standards to cover food across the whole school day; and sup-
porting schools to provide the best meal service possible (Department of
Health, 2004).
In an attempt to improve the standard of school meals, the Department for
Education and Skills set up the School Food Trust, a nondepartmental public
body, in 2005. Its mission is to transform school food and food skills and pro-
mote the education and health of children and young people by improving the
quality of food supplied and consumed in schools. Following the report pub-
lished by the School Meals Review Panel in October 2005, the trust was tasked
with taking forward the panel’s recommendations to transform school food and
food skills to improve health and education for school-age children and young
people. Whilst the School Food Trust works closely with DfES, it is an independ-
ent organization providing information, advice, and guidance to anyone in-
volved in school food. In terms of interventions, it covers three main areas:
(1) information and support, (2) training and conferences, and (3) funding.

DE P RI VATION I N NORTH E A ST E NG L A N D

This case study was piloted in Northeast England, which has large areas of dep-
rivation. The statistics given here highlight the extent of the deprivation:

• The unemployment rate in the region was 6.5% in 2006, the second
highest in the UK (Office for National Statistics, 2008b).
• The average price for dwellings in the Northeast was £132,000 in 2005,
which remains the lowest in England and Wales. This is £60,000 below
the national average (Office for National Statistics, 2008b).
• Of the 215,430 pupils on roll in the Northeast in 2006, 37,930 (17.6%)
were taking free school meals. This is substantially higher than the UK
average of 13.3% (School Meal Arrangements, 2006).

Health inequalities are a major concern for the Department of Health in
England. A recent report found the gap in life expectancy between the bottom
fifth and the population as a whole had widened by 2% for males and 5% for
females between 1997–1999 and 2001–2003 (BBC, 2005). In England, health
inequalities are measured by life expectancy and infant mortality. Northeast
England is one of the priority regions with a disproportionate share of health