Member

It is especially in the provision of catering services where schools will feel most at risk if they cannot stipulate suppliers’ quality thresholds. Those in the supply chain are accustomed to being contractually bound to act in accordance with their clients’ required standards in all sorts of areas, for example living wage and modern slavery compliance, so there is no bar in principle to allergy policy being added to the list. There must be concern that, if only a minority of schools have such policies, only a minority of providers will have them too. There must also be a danger that, as cost will be a driving factor in the awarding of these contracts, quality standards may be compromised. We cannot afford a situation where there is a mismatch between a school’s expectations and requirements and a provider’s readiness and ability to fulfil them.