IT seems that school meals have been a major cause for concern amongst parents for decades.

It also seems that the reassuring noises being made by those in charge of providing them in recent years have lulled us into a false sense of security, if nutrition expert Jenny Slaughter is to be believed.

The dietician in charge of improving local primary school children's eating habits has said that if nothing is done to take cheap, stodgy meals out of youngsters' diets they could die before their parents.

And she has revealed that the situation in some schools is so bad that cooks simply re-heat pre-prepared food and do not even have the equipment to peel a potato.

It appears that much of the work being done to improve menus involves secondary schools.

But surely the children most in need of a good diet are the youngsters in our primary schools.

In an area like East Lancashire, with its problems of social deprivation, a good school dinner is vital. Those in charge of providing them say they are working hard to improve things.

It is about time the powers that be called an urgent conference to sort out the situation once and for all. They have been warned of the dire consequences if they do not.