Britain's celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has complained that government uttered "a lot of headline-grabbing words" instead of delivering more nutritious school meals. His TV series Jamie’s School Dinners sparked off a campaign to replace junk food with balanced nutrition.

While government announced a cash award of £280m for healthier meals, it turned out that this was not extra money, and that some of it was lottery cash. Helen Rumbelow (Times) reports Jamie Oliver's comments that "Our friends across the world are amazed that a proud country such as ours can have so little regard for the health and wellbeing of its children."

Mr Oliver said that on a recent visit to South Africa he went to the poorest township in Johannesburg and found that school meals were better than in Britain. He said: "It completely astounded me that in a place of unbelievable poverty, the love and care put into childrens' meals was greater than in Inner London — and resulted in a more nutritionally balanced lunch."

Mr Oliver thought that his superbly-conducted campaign had been successful, as did many observers. They had reckoned without the government's propensity to announce bold new innovations, to set up task forces, to unveil initiatives, and then not to do anything. This is a government which likes the headlines, and the praise which promised action brings. It is less keen on the hard work required to implement real change and improvement. It is also very ready to castigate others for its lack of progress; and this time it looks as though the schools and the parents are to be blamed for their unreadiness to accept the required changes.