[Tezcatlipoca]

Ooops........

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/st...469502,00.html

Originally Posted by The Guardian

Private deals block Jamie's school dinners

Felicity Lawrence and Katharine Quarmby
Monday April 25, 2005
The Guardian

The school meals revolution set in motion by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has already run into difficulties as long-term contracts with private companies prevent schools getting rid of junk food.

The Guardian has learned that new schools locked into 25-year contracts through private finance initiatives are finding that they cannot rid their menus of junk food despite the government's pledge.

Other schools are also running into problems as they discover that they face substantial financial penalties if they try to opt out of long-running contracts with private catering companies.

(snip)

A campaign group in Merton, set up in the wake of the series on school meals, told the Guardian that its local educa tion authority has said that the six new PFI schools in the south London borough may be exempt from the new guidelines because of their contracts.

Most Merton secondary schools are locked into a 25-year PFI contract with a company called New Schools. It has subcontracted all services for 25 years to Atkins Asset Management. Atkins has subcontracted again, giving a 25-year catering contract for the schools to Scolarest catering.

Parents, governors and teachers have expressed dissatisfaction with the level of service and the quality of food provided by Scolarest.

There are some 450 PFI schools and many will be tied into similar long-term agreements to provide services.

(snip)

Good old PFI...