THE standard of school dinners in York remains high, despite changes, say council officials.

At a meeting of City of York Council's culture scrutiny committee, councillors heard an update on school meals in the city.

Education chief Mark Ellis spoke to members on the issue and told them that since universal free school meals for infants were introduced many schools have either taken catering in house, or found new contracts with other companies.

Standards have stayed high as companies have competed for contracts by promising things like lower salt and sugar content, he added.

The latest figures – which date from 2015/16 – show that around 78 per cent of infant pupils have school meals, and around 45 per cent of Key Stage 2 pupils.

However, he said the council could look at better ways of collecting data as some schools have encouraged extra people to have school meals on census day to improve their figures.

Accurate information will be important in any work the council tries to reduce childhood obesity, he added.