Balls wants free lunches for all pupils

In a speech to the conference, Mr Balls revealed that he was pumping £40 million into a two-year programme aimed at testing the impact of scrapping lunch charges for all pupils in primary schools.

The plan, one of several "big ideas" set to be included in Labour's next general election manifesto, will be rolled out nationwide if the expected health benefits - and better exam results - are confirmed.

Mr Balls, who visited a school in Bolton yesterday where the idea has already been adopted, said that such a move would "improve test results" and encourage children to eat more healthily at home. He made clear he wanted "all children to get the chance of a hot lunch".

He said that the idea was part of a wider strategy that included compulsory cooking classes for 11- to 13-year-olds.

But Mr Balls made clear that funding for a nationwide scheme would depend on joint working with local councils.

When asked about parents who handed pies and burgers to their children through school railings in protest to healthier meals, he told GMTV today: "Those days are gone. Parents know this is really important now."

Currently only one in three children has a healthy school meal - the rest snack on sandwichesor go to fast-food outlets. The scheme's enthusiasts admit that compulsory free meals for all pupils would cost £2billion a year. But they insist tackling obesity is already costing £3.5billion so the plan would be an investment.

At the moment, free school meals only go to children of poorer families. But one in five children entitled to a free meal do not take up the offer because of the stigma. Some 290,000 children are entitled to free meals but their parents are too proud to claim.

A pilot scheme in Hull increased uptake of school meals from 36 per cent to 64 per cent before being scrapped by the Liberal Democrat council. The Government has already given £218million to improve school food and kitchens after Jamie Oliver's TV campaign to ban Turkey Twizzlers.