Councils demand to know where funds for free school meals will come from

Published on Saturday 4 October 2008 20:01

COUNCILS are in "open revolt" over the Scottish Government's plans for free school meals, it was claimed last night.

Education secretary Fiona Hyslop announced that all pupils in primaries one to three are to receive free school meals.

But no new money is being provided, with funding instead included in the overall local government settlement.

Labour said 12 of Scotland's 32 councils had now expressed concerns about how they would finance the scheme.

Ministers had previously run a 5m trial giving primary one to three pupils in five council areas free school lunches.

The concordat deal with councils had agreed if that was a success, legislation would be brought in to ensure all youngsters in primary one to three were entitled to free school meals from August 2010.

However, Labour fears it could cost councils up to 50m a year to provide the meals.

Labour education spokeswoman Rhona Brankin said: "Fiona Hyslop's credibility is in tatters. She has provoked an open revolt from local government, who are being asked to foot the bill for free school meals.

"I am demanding a guarantee that SNP ministers will not penalise councils who are unable to afford this."

One of the councils that expressed concerns about the funding of the free school meals is Edinburgh City Council, where there is a ruling Lib Dem/SNP coalition.

Lib Dem Marilyne MacLaren, the council's education convener, said: "We believe that the implementation of such a policy will be very difficult if insufficient additional money is available to fund it."

Mary Smith, the education chairman at South Lanarkshire Council, said: "Having to find the money to fund free school meals will put additional pressure on our education budget."

David O'Neill, the leader of North Ayrshire Council, warned that if the scheme was not fully funded by ministers there could be "serious repercussions for other services".

And East Renfrewshire Council leader Jim Fletcher said: "We would expect any new commitment on local authorities from the Scottish Government to come with additional funding. If we are instructed to find money from the education budget to pay for free school meals that would be money that could be better spent elsewhere."

Angus Council education convener Peter Nield said: "Goodness knows where the money is going to come from. We will have to cut something to pay for it."

The free school meals scheme has been welcomed by the local government body Cosla, with education spokeswoman Isabel Hutton explaining it was an agreed commitment in the concordat and funding was included in the overall local government settlement.

A spokesman for Hyslop accused Labour of making an "outrageous attack" on the policy and insisted local authorities already had the funds to deliver.

"The money is already there with councils," he said.