Former Olympian and MSP calls for universal free breakfast clubs

Former Olympian and MSP Brian Whittle has called for the introduction of free universal breakfast clubs.

The Conservative – who competed in the 1988 Olympics – has urged the Scottish Government to fund the scheme in the hope it would lead to schoolchildren taking up other activities.

The recommendation came as part of a report written for the think tank Enlighten by Mr Whittle, in which he also recommends potential curbs on secondary school pupils being able to leave during lunchtime and limits on the number of fast-food outlets that are allowed to open near schools.

In the report, Mr Whittle said the offer of free breakfast could be made “available alongside an offering of activities for young people”.

He wrote: “This could include sports, art, drama, coding or anything else that could spark an interest, giving pupils an outlet and encouraging them to be active and socialise.

“This model has the additional benefit of removing any stigma around pupils accessing free meals as the breakfast club becomes about the activity first and the food second.”

The report studied the ways Scotland’s notoriously poor health can be improved by the use of prevention rather than medical treatment.

“Given the opportunity, most of us want to take better care of ourselves,” it said. “But it is the responsibility of government to create an environment where those opportunities exist for everyone, regardless of background or personal circumstance.

“If we can put those opportunities in front of people and give them the knowledge, confidence, capability and aspiration to grasp them, we can transform our approach to public health and help everyone live healthier, longer lives.”

Among other recommendations is the creation of a long-term funding stream for community organisations proven to improve people’s health, preventing the closure of local sports facilities and calling an audit of the existing ones, and embedding “physical literacy” into the school curriculum.

Chris Deerin, director of Enlighten, said: “Scotland’s health record is notoriously poor, with data regularly placing us at or near the bottom of the charts across the West.

“For many years, politicians have talked about the need for a focus on prevention of ill-health, allowing people to live healthier lives for longer and reducing the strain on the NHS.

“Despite the talk, we haven’t made anything like the progress required.

“The ideas contained in this paper suggest innovative ways in which Scotland’s health record might be improved, with positive consequences for us all.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We know that making sure children have access to a healthy, nutritious breakfast and helping parents with early drop-off can have benefits for all the family.

“Around half of primary and special schools already offer breakfast before the school day and we are going further, allocating £3 million through our Bright Start Breakfasts fund to expand access to breakfast clubs, providing an additional 9,000 places and supporting up to 20,000 children over this academic year.

“We also already deliver innovative activities-focused free breakfast clubs as part of our £5.5m Extra Time Programme in partnership with the Scottish Football Association.

“Early evidence shows that this can have a positive impact on mental and physical health for children as well as attendance and behaviour at school.”