Dr Hilary Jones: Scottish children should not be missing out on school milk

The cost of living crisis means families are feeling the strain. From mortgages to the cost of filling up the car, the pound in our pocket is not stretching as far as it used to.

Milk for schoolchildren has been a part of British life for decades. Picture: William H. Alden/Evening Standard/Getty Images

Nowhere is this clearer than in the cost of the weekly shop. The official inflation rate is still in double figures but the real inflation rate for key groceries and household items is much higher,

The price of a loaf of bread, for example, went up by 18.9 per cent in the year to March 2023, almost double the general UK national inflation rate. And whole milk prices jumped by 37.9 per cent.

It is vital that children can access healthy, nutritious milk. But the current high cost of living means families are having to make tough choices. It is more important than ever that the Scottish Government steps up to ensure that children can access nutritious milk in schools; something that is important for their physical and cognitive development.

Dr Hilary Jones is a GP and supporter of the School and Nursery Milk Alliance.

There are currently two Scottish government schemes that subsidise milk for children but both face uncertain futures, The Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme funds a daily portion of milk for pre-school children. However, inflation is already outpacing the value of this subsidy and there is uncertainty as to the long-term future of this scheme.

And the Government announced a new Scottish School Milk Scheme in 2022 offering a free portion of milk to all primary aged children per day. However, the Scottish Government pushed back the new scheme’s launch and there is uncertainty as to when it will begin.

Admirably, the Scottish Government also announced plans to conduct a secondary school pilot, extending its school milk offer to older children but firm details are yet to materialize. Certainty is needed so that families can know up until what age their children can benefit from healthy and nutritious milk at school.

The health, developmental, social, and nutritional benefits of milk are enormous and worth reiterating. Cow’s milk provides children with an unparalleled source of nutrients essential for growth and development, including vitamins B2 and B12. Milk is also essential for supporting healthy teeth and bones with the calcium that is vital for attaining optimal peak bone mass during skeletal growth in childhood, and for making young teeth stronger. Northumbria University found that when 5-11 year olds drink milk, they receive multiple health benefits including improved nutritional status, cognitive functioning, dental health, bone health and physical stature.

The satiating effects of milk also help to combat hunger, ensuring that children can focus for longer and continue to learn until lunchtime. This is particularly important for poorer students who are more likely to not have had breakfast before attending school.

Scotland faces a child obesity crisis, with almost one in five considered at risk . But the British Medical Journal (BMJ) found that eating two servings of dairy products every day could lower the risk of obesity . With semi-skimmed milk containing just 1.7 per cent fat, school milk should be part of any coherent government strategy to combat childhood obesity.

It is vital that families are made aware of the support that is available to them and their children. But too many children in nurseries and schools across Scotland are missing out on subsidized nutritious milk because their education settings are either unaware of the schemes or not signed up to them. It cannot be right that this is happening, especially during a cost-of-living crisis when many families are glad of the additional help.

It is more important than ever that the government guarantees the long-term future of the milk subsidy so that children – particularly those in poorer households- can continue to enjoy the substantial health benefits of milk in schools. And we need to ensure that as many schools and nurseries as possible are signed up to the available schemes so that as many children as possible can benefit from them.

Drinking milk in school is a tradition that goes back generations and we must ensure that the next generation of children are able to benefit in the future.

Dr Hilary Jones is a GP and supporter of the School and Nursery Milk Alliance.