Having your say

1st February 2012, 12:27pm

Everyone knows money is tight and the Government has to prioritise its spending commitments. That, sadly but inevitably, means cuts somewhere along the line, even in crucial areas like public health.

But what about the case when pursuing public health goals does not require more money. All it needs is a bit of proverbial 'joined up' thinking and a willingness to make private companies work to the same rules as the public sector.

That, you would have thought, would have appealed to a cash-strapped administration. Unfortunately, political philosophy seems to get in the way of it taking such a bargain-priced option.

So, instead of insisting that academies and free schools comply with the Jamie Oliver-inspired food standards that state schools use, they are exempted. And this, despite the clear evidence that the standards have begun to improve diet and nutrition among young people.

It's but one example among many where caterers in the public sector have been recruited to help drive the national health and wellbeing agenda and found the rug pulled out from under them.

And the frustration they feel has now found expression in a new forum called the Public Sector 100. It includes education, healthcare, prison and military caterers, contractors, consultants, suppliers and opinion-formers.

They have now decided that working together and having one voice on issues of joint concern is the way forward.

The first event was held on December 1 at the QEII Centre in London in sight of the Houses of Parliament; political indifference was clear from the poor response to ministerial invitations.

The response from the catering industry, in marked contrast, was enthusiastic and bullish. You can read about the start of what is a potentially very important public sector foodservice collaboration starting on page 17.