The 2025 ASSIST FM seminar saw the launch of the 2026 awards and competitions that will climax at the conference at the Crowne Plaza in Glasgow on 14th May 2026.
The 2026 awards alongside the Local Authority Cook of the Year and the StreetFood Competition can all be entered and the forms and brochures cam be downloaded here:
Our future leaders, representing 21 different Scottish Local Authority catering and cleaning services, gathered today for a closing ceremony at the ASSIST FM Autumn Seminar.
After successfully piloting the Muller Milk & Ingredients ASSIST FM Scholarship in association with Hospitality Industry Trust Scotland (HITS) scholarship programme in 2024, this fabulous scholarship was a mixture of in-person and online learning designed to give the skills to be a great manager such as Learning to Lead, Resilience & Mental Wellness.
ASSIST FM sought to replicate this model for cleaning service teams. In response, ASSIST FM worked with British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) and developed a suite of tailored online courses, enabling candidates to complete training at their own pace. The curriculum addressed key topics such as environmental considerations, ethical and effective product purchasing, the role of robotics, the science behind cleaning, conducting meaningful building inspections, calculating required cleaning hours from building plans, and other essential elements for delivering comprehensive cleaning services. The curriculum was further supported by two days of face-to-face leadership sessions delivered by We Are Extraordinary Training.
The overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants and continued support from the Suppliers ensured the continuation of the scholarship into 2025, today was a proud moment for 37 scholars who attended the closing ceremony at the ASSIST FM Autumn Seminar. The closing ceremony and presentation of certificates was conducted by Nicky Joiner, Chair of ASSIST FM, who congratulated all our scholars on their success, she also expressed thanks to training partners and to the generous support of our fantastic Local Government suppliers, including Muller Milk & Ingredients , Alliance Local, Unico Direct, Instock,Bunzl, Arrow County Supplies, and GMC Corsehill whom without their support this would not have been possible.
The feedback has been exceptional, and Nicky wished all our scholars the best of luck as they take their new skills back into their workplace.
Jayne Jones, chair of the Public Sector Catering Alliance and former chair of ASSIST FM, has announced that she will step down from the role in the new year with vice chair Anita Brown taking over the position.
In early 2026 Jones will be starting a new role as the inaugural chief executive of the Scottish Food Commission, which aims to ensure that the good food nation plans align with national priorities and public interest.
The Commission will play a crucial role in shaping Scotland’s food policy, will be scrutinising and making recommendations on good food nation plans, as well as conducting research and providing advice to Scottish ministers.
Commenting on the news, Jones said: “I’m immensely proud of the progress and improvements we have made collectively to the public food system, and in highlighting its reputation and its value to key decision makers in Scotland and the UK, and I’m very grateful to my team and colleagues for all of their support, challenge and commitment.
“Together, I hope we have made a positive difference to those we serve, and to our caterers who work so hard each and every day serving meals to children and young people, patients, visitors and staff, those in care homes, in prisons and in our university and colleges.
“I’ll also be handing over the reins of the Public Sector Catering Alliance to the immensely capable and talented Anita Brown, who will step into the role of chair – I know that she will take the organisation from strength to strength.”
The Public Sector Catering Alliance is the umbrella organisation for meal providers working in schools, hospitals, care settings, universities, prisons and the military. It also supports the caterers of tomorrow through catering colleges throughout the UK.
It aims to foster collaboration among them on issues of mutual concern and serves as a focus for joint action, including liaison with Government, on topics such as procurement, food standards and sustainability.
In her time as chair, Jones has repeatedly lobbied to have the Alliance given a seat at the Food and Drink Sector Council table and, more recently, challenged Defra to include the Alliance on its new Food Strategy Board. In both cases, she argues, that the public sector is not represented but should be.
Every year £5bn is spent on food in the public sector, which serves more than 2bn meals in hospitals, schools, prisons, and care homes. It is estimated a quarter of the 69m people in the UK eat at least one public sector meal a year, while many school-age children regularly get a third of their daily nutrition through public procurement.
Jones added: “I hope to bring to this new challenge what I’ve learned over that time, as well as my drive and determination to create shifts towards a more sustainable, ethical, just and inclusive food system for everyone in Scotland, the UK and beyond. I’m looking forward to learning from other actors across the food system and to building an organisation that is values led, innovative and future focussed.
“There is a lot to do – and I’m looking forward to getting started, and to building on the strong relationships that are already firmly in place across the food system, as well as helping to bridge new ones in the coming months and years.”
The Public Sector Catering Alliance will start its search for the next vice chair of the organisation in December.
What an exciting start to the first-ever ASSIST FM Cleaning Scholarship! Last week our inaugural group of 18 scholars, representing 18 different Scottish Local Authorities, gathered for their first session, kindly hosted by Scotland Excel at Renfrewshire House in Paisley.
The session opened with a warm welcome from Chris Ross, Chair of ASSIST FM, who emphasised the need for this scholarship following the success of the HITS scholarship programme. Recognising the importance of extending such opportunities to the cleaning sector of FM Services, the Cleaning with Class group partnered with the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) and We Are Extraordinary Training to design a bespoke training programme. This programme offers a blend of in-person and online sessions tailored to meet the current challenges in Local Authority Cleaning Services.
Denise Hanson, Commercial Director at BICSc, started the day by outlining the key elements of the BICSc training. She guided the group through signing up to the BICSc community and online learning platform, and distributed valuable training resources to help them on their journey.
In the afternoon, Lisa Rogers, Director of Growth Development, led two leadership sessions. The first focused on understanding personal leadership styles, while the second explored how to motivate teams and foster employee engagement
We wish our 18 scholars the best of luck as they embark on this rewarding training journey!
The Scottish Government have set out a vision for Scotland to be “a Good Food Nation, where people from every walk of life take pride and pleasure in, and benefit from, the food they produce, buy, cook, serve, and eat each day.”
Local Authority Caterers (LAC) are at the front line of the Good Food Nation’s ambitions. Their work shaping public food systems is a key linchpin in the delivery of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act (GFNA).
This paper sets out the 6 outcomes of the GFNA and highlights the work, sometimes hidden by Local Authorities, to deliver on these outcomes.
It also explores the limitations of Local Authorities and the challenges surrounding sustainable and long-term funding, amongst a landscape of extremely challenging financial outlooks by many.
The passion of individuals working in the industry should be celebrated and spoken about more widely, their engagement with the next generation will ensure that Scotland can truly be a Good Food Nation.
International School Meals Day: the caterer innovations that have made Scottish school meals better
This International School Meals Day, Food for Life Scotland and ASSIST FM are celebrating the inspiring innovation of Scotland’s school caterers, who, despite external pressures, work tirelessly every day to provide a high quality, nutritionally balanced and sustainably sourced school meal.
Around 450,000 meals are served every day across Scotland’s 32 Local Authorities. In 15 local authorities, those meals meet the Food for Life Served Here award standards at either Bronze, Silver or Gold. The award has a long history in Scotland, with the first Scottish local authority – East Ayrshire – receiving the certification in 2008.
Across the school meals sector, caterers continue to evolve and innovate – providing services well beyond a meal on a plate!
Good food on school meal plates
Scotland has the most stringent school food standards of any UK nation. The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (2020) sets out the amount of salt, sugars and fats recommended in school meals along with building on a health promoting culture with the school community.
The amount of Scottish produce featured on school meals continues to grow year on year, with all local authorities building strong relationships with both local and national suppliers to provide the highest quality produce to pupils.
Many school caterers and local authority catering teams in Scotland show their commitment to fresh, local and sustainable school food by achieving the Food for Life Served Here award at Bronze, Silver or Gold. A Food for Life Served Here award is a nationally recognised mark of quality. If you see a Food for Life Served Here logo you know that the majority of the food on the menu will be freshly prepared, and it will always be free from undesirable trans fats, sweeteners, and additives. Caterers making Food for Life Served Here-certified meals use free-range eggs and farm assured meat that can be traced back to the source, as well as ingredients from sustainable and ethical sources.
Through Universal Free School Meals (P1-P5), caterers have been working hard to deliver even more lunches than ever before to Scottish pupils, ensuring a wide and varied choice is available to schools and building life and social skills through shared dining. Caterers use pupil and parental feedback to help shape services for many years to come.
Local authorities are finding innovative ways to include more organic produce on school meals menus. FFLSH Gold award holder East Ayrshire Council’s partnership with local organic farm Mossgiel Farm not only means that primary school pupils in East Ayrshire receive local, organic milk, but also involves an innovative approach to reducing waste, with milk dispensers installed in schools reducing the need for plastic containers.
East Lothian Council achieved the FFLSH Silver award by buying organic flour from Mungoswells Malt and Milling, based in Drem East Lothian. The catering team balanced the cost by working with the Food for Life Scotland team to make savings in other areas of the menu. This fantastic example of innovation shows what’s possible in delivering great Scottish school food that supports health, the environment and the local economy.
The role of the Caterer
Catering teams are an integral part of the whole school approach to health and wellbeing. They are at the front line, ensuring that our children and young people are given the right facts and information on the importance of making positive food and drink choices as they develop and grow. School catering teams are some of the most passionate in the hospitality industry, many of them spending their entire careers devoted to public service.
For many school pupils, their school meal could be the only hot meal they have that day. School caterers take this responsibility seriously, finding ways to support every pupil that uses their school meals service. In Food for Life Served Here Bronze award holder Inverclyde, for example, nursery staff at Newark Primary School provide a table setting for each of their nursery pupils each lunchtime. They decorate the table with a vase and artificial flowers and sit with the children, who enjoy the meal together. For many pupils, their main opportunity to share a meal in this way is at school.
The schools catering service does not simply end at lunchtime. It contributes in numerous less visible ways to the local community. Local Authority caterers are proud to support local suppliers. They also contribute to the creation of local employment and community wealth building – research shows for every £1 spent on school meals a minimum of £3 is returned to the local community, while every £1 invested in Food for Life brings a social return on investment of £4.41.
New ideas
Technology now forms a large part of school meals services, keeping them sustainable and agile – systems such as online ordering, cashless catering and pre-ordering in both high schools and primary schools, helps to reduce waste and removes stigma from the lunch service. Modern cooking technology is used in kitchens to create healthier recipes. And Food for Life Served Here Bronze award holder Argyll and Bute Council have even trialled using drones to deliver school meals to its island-based schools.
Caterers work closely with suppliers to innovate and adapt products. All local authorities are continually looking at removing packaging waste (for example by using re-usable vegetable crates or swapping to cornstarch veg netting). And caterers are innovating and adapting with the recipes themselves. Caterers serving FFLSH meals served farm assured meat, which may cost more – so they take a less but better meat approach to their school meals menu, working closely with the FFLS menu and catering skills team to adapt dishes by removing some of the meat and replacing it with things like pulses. Costs are reduced while dishes remain fresh, nutritious – and delicious!
The service has a wider role in supporting positive community benefits such as supporting school growing projects, working with schools, teaching pupils culinary skills and food provenance, supporting the local community through food larders and skills training hubs and working out with term time to support holiday clubs and activity programmes. For example, in Stirling – which holds the FFLSH Silver award – caterers at Dunblane Primary School run a Chef’s Apprentice Programme, bringing P6 pupils into the kitchen to learn skills including fresh food preparation and baking.
Hands on Hungry Blog by Chairperson Sheryl McKiddie, Food & Nutrition Manager, Tayside Contracts
We can’t believe we are three months into another year already, 2023 was a quick year but Hands on Hungry still managed to sink their teeth into meaningful engagements both as a group and with external stakeholders such as ProVeg, Quality Meat Scotland and the Health & Nutrition Inspection Team.
The highlights for 2023 were:
HNI Q&A Session which I think and hope all that attended found useful and now we plan to make this a regular thing I think it will be beneficial to how we move forward in terms of working in partnership with the HNI team.
Bringing together 2 sub-groups to pull together a HNI Catering Guide to support our catering colleagues in knowing what to expect when they are being inspected and some using hints and tips to aid them along the way so watch this space for this coming out!
Forecasting session with Brakes, Green Gourmet & Quorn – Forecasting volumes and managing the timescales with menu changes is always a challenge so this session allowed our members to ask the nitty gritty on what the suppliers and manufacturers expectations are and where we go moving forward. I for one have welcomed this new knowledge and know my team will find the supporting tools provided of great benefit!
Hot topics of the year has definitely been HNI & Adapted Menus/Special Dietary Requirements.
Quarterly Meetings – Our meetings have been well attended with great discussion and sharing of problems as well as solutions. Our guest speakers in 2023 included:
Quality Meat Scotland
ProVeg
HNI Team
Priorities for 2024:
Continue sharing best practices
Continue work with national menu template
Continue work with HNI Inspections
Feed into specialist menus group and help establish best practise guidelines for all
Cleaning with Class
Blog by Chairperson, Anne Goldie
Facilities Services Manager, South Lanarkshire Council
The Cleaning with Class Group had a very busy 2023 and has a lot of momentum and excitement going forward in 2024. Memberships increased and therefore, attendance at the quarterly meetings did also, which meant that all of our meetings were super beneficial and extremely informative.
The highlights for 2023 were:
Cleaning with Class were finalists in the European Cleaning And Hygiene Awards 2023 in the category “Best Initiative Raising the Profile of the Cleaning Sector”.
It was an honour to attend the glittering awards ceremony which took place in the beautiful Mansion House in Dublin on 5th October 2023.
Although we did not lift the trophy this year it was a massive achievement to reach the final as the awards received a record number of entries. The judges reviewed over 230 nominations with 49 finalists across 10 categories.
See more details of the winners and finalists in the link below:
Attendance at the UK’s premier cleaning and hygiene event “Cleaning Show 2023” in Excel in London in March 2023. The show was packed with business opportunities, innovative products, industry speakers and over 70 exhibitors. This gives a great opportunity to network and share ideas with the group.
Journey to Cobotics/Robotics – Highland Council – inspiration for our Local Authorities to follow.
Quarterly Meetings – Our meetings have been well attended with great discussion and sharing of problems as well as solutions. Our guest speakers in 2023 included :
Sandra Williamson – REHIS
Angie McCarty – Scotland Excel
David Harkness – Benefits – South Lanarkshire Council ( Autumn Seminar)
As well as our many members who have presented throughout the year!
ASSIST FM members can access the meeting minutes over on the Resource Site.
Priorities for 2024:
Continue to grow Cleaning & FM services Profile
Establish a Data Collection/Sharing Group
Attend Cleaning Show – 2024 Manchester Cleaning Show register now
Continue to share best practices and collectively work together to find solutions
As we bid farewell to 2023, let’s take a moment to look back at some of the highlights and milestones that made this year one to remember.
Over the past 12 months, we have been providing support to our members and partner organisations as well as promoting and enhancing service delivery for public sector organisations in Scotland. Here are some of the highlights:
ASSIST FM Conference 2023
The ASSIST FM ‘What’s your reality?’ conference, sponsored by Müller Milk & Ingredients, took place in May at the Hilton Glasgow and focused on the future of the facilities management industry and explored the reality of what lies ahead.
We had a fantastic lineup of 55 exhibitors made up of long-time partners, recurring suppliers and new suppliers who brought real innovation to the public sector. We also had the opportunity to hear from fantastic speakers on a range of topics and our Keynote speaker was the wonderful Cor Hutton who shared an inspiring story that left everyone on a high!
We held our annual Local Authority Cook of the Year (LACOTY) competition to determine the menu for the Conference’s Gala Dinner. Six Local Authorities competed at The Braehead Cook School in March. The judges Willie Pike and Bruce Sangster selected the top three dishes (Best starter, main, and dessert), and the 3 finalists went head-to-head at the Glasgow Hilton with Nicola Arnold from Edinburgh Council announced as the winner of the LACOTY competition during the Gala Dinner. The LACOTY competition continues to be a resounding success!
The Gala Dinner, hosted by ASSIST FM’s very own Keith Breasley, featured an awards ceremony where 10 National Awards were presented.
Parliamentary Event
The ASSIST FM Committee had a fantastic day in October at The Scottish Parliament in partnership with Food for Life Scotland.
“It’s a pleasure to work in partnership with Food for Life (FFL) and to celebrate the school food heroes who go above and beyond in the community in which they serve,” shared Chris Ross, Chair of ASSIST FM.
Autumn Seminar
In November, we hosted the Autumn Seminar where invited partners presented their latest innovative products. The event welcomed all 32 Local Authorities FM employees for a day filled with seminars, break-out activities, and an exceptional lunch provided by Fife Council at the Glen Pavilion.
Exciting news to wrap up the year!
Christopher Ross has been recognised as one of the Top 20 Most Influential People in public sector catering.
The list comprises people who are the industry’s leading lights based on their ability to represent the concerns of people working in the sector, as well as their capacity to drive change. They cover schools, universities, hospitals, the care sector, prisons and catering colleges. Congratulations Chris, we are so proud of you!
A heartfelt thank you to everyone for your continuous support and for making this year unforgettable! We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and look forward to the exciting journey that we will be undertaking in 2024.
Cordia’s Burns Suppers took place in schools all over Glasgow Schools across Scotland put on the Burns Day school lunch last week. However, schools from 11 Scottish councils all decided to hold the Burns Supper on Tuesday 27th January and made it the biggest Burns Supper in Scotland. Together the schools served the traditional haggis, neeps and tatties to over 100,000 pupils. The Burns Day is the first event in a 12 month promotion that will highlight Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink. The Government-led initiative has been created by Event Scotland and Visit Scotland, and will spotlight, celebrate and promote Scotland’s natural larder and quality produce to our people and our visitors.
The school meals service has been tasked with creating a series of events to highlight the quality of Scottish products that are being used in the school meals sector.Alistair McIntyre, Depute National Chair of ASSIST FM, the association for Scottish Local Authority caterers stated, ‘We see this as a fantastic opportunity to talk about local provenance within our sector and to ‘start’ a campaign that will be relevant for many years. Themes for the 12 months will vary in some schools but overall the schools will be following the themes of the Year of Food and Drink itself. These will be;
January – Traditional Foods
February – The Love of Food
March – Delicious Meats
April – Award Winning Food
May – Water of Life (Highlighting the benefits of hydration and water)
June – Scottish Berries & Fruits
July – Focus on External Catering – Cafes, Leisure centres, etc
August – Delicious Dairy – Yoghurts, milk and cheeses
September – Scottish School Cook of Year and Best of Scottish Food
October – Sustainable Shores
November – Hearty & Heartwarming (Super healthy soups, broths and stews)
December – Local Foods for ChristmasSchools from Aberdeenshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire took part in the Burns Supper day on The 27th.
All schools and nurseries in East Ayrshire county council have joined a pioneering scheme to use more local, organic and unprocessed food for meals. The scheme, supported also by the Scottish Executive, costs an extra 10-15p for each of 8-9,000 lunches served on school days.
An independent report for the local authority, meanwhile, estimated that benefits such as lower food miles, extra employment and income for the local economy and reduced future health risks (especially cancers) were worth six times the project’s cost.
The ASSIST FM Conference 2019 also saw the end of Keith Breasley’s tenure as Chair of ASSIST FM, with the appointment passed on to Vice-Chair Jayne Jones of Argyll & Bute Council at the AGM. Gerry Donnachie of South Lanarkshire Council was then appointed to the position as Vice-Chair.
Commenting on her appointment, Jayne Jones said: “Over the past two years, Keith has worked very hard on behalf of Scottish Local Authorities, at a time when there has been significant change across our services. He has represented our views with the development of revised Food and Drinks Standards, the implementation of free meals for early years pupils and many other matters, and has done this with great sensitivity and by consulting with ASSIST FM members. I’d like to thank him for all of his commitment and collaborative working.
I’m looking forward to representing ASSIST FM in the coming two years of further change, and to doing so in partnership with our members. I’m also looking forward to working with other National bodies to further the representation of public sector catering and FM services as best as I can.”
