Get on with free school meals, councils told

LEADERS of councils in Scotland have been told by their own top representative to get on with providing free school meals and stop complaining about funding.

However, the intervention by Pat Watters, chairman of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), came as a report by senior directors at Fife Council – which trialed free school meals – said there was no money to pay for them.

Councillors in Fife will have an emergency meeting today to discuss the issue and education cuts.

Mr Watters wrote to Scotland's 32 council leaders after the majority said they had not been given the money to provide free school meals for all P1 to P3 children, estimated to be £50 million nationally.

The row has centred on whether the Scottish Government has provided funds for free meals as part of the concordat with councils – an agreement that ended ring-fencing and allowed councils to choose their own priorities. There has also been debate over whether agreeing to the "aim" of free school meals was a promise to provide them. This followed an announcement by Fiona Hyslop, the education secretary, last week that a successful pilot scheme in Fife would be rolled out across the country.

In his letter, Mr Watters, a Labour representative, said: "I have made it clear that I believe the resources for this provision are included in the overall settlement and that agreement to the settlement was made in the full knowledge that free school meals was part of that financial provision.

"I am, therefore, surprised and concerned that there appears to be a view that insufficient provision has been made for this policy or that there was no agreement by Cosla that free school meals would be provided."

He warned: "Colleagues must realise that this divergence of view strikes right to the heart of our new way of doing business with national government. If we are seen to change our mind after a negotiation has been completed we shouldn't be surprised if we are seen as a less reliable partner as a consequence."

This is not the first time Mr Watters has intervened to support the SNP government. During the negotiation on the concordat, he attacked Wendy Alexander, Labour leader at the time, over her claims that services would be cut.

The SNP-led Fife Council appears to have come to Labour's aid in the dispute. Ahead of the emergency education meeting today, in information given to local councillors, Barrie Lawrie, the director of finance and resources, said that "the current budget does not include costs associated with the introduction of free school meals."

And James McKinstry, the senior resources manager in education services at Fife Council, confirmed: "The current three-year budget does not include the costs of the roll-out."

Ken Macintosh, Labour's schools spokesman, said: "Whatever ministers or Pat Watters are saying, it is clear the money has not been provided and the Scottish Government is trying to pass the buck for its broken promises on to councils, which is outrageous."