Councils to hold out begging bowl over free school meals

Published on Wednesday 3 June 2009 22:04

COUNCIL leaders are to ask the Scottish Government for more cash for free schools meals, a leaked document obtained by The Scotsman has revealed.

The report claims there will be a 15 million shortfall for the policy next year, mostly due to set-up costs of the scheme.

In October last year the Scottish Government announced it would expand the current provision of free lunches to an extra 44,000 children.

From August this year, parents who are entitled to the maximum working tax credit and the maximum child tax credit will be included in the scheme.

And from August 2010 all pupils in the first three years of primary school will be entitled to free school meals.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) report was created in May to give council leaders an update on the financial implications of the policy they are now committed to.

The report says: "40 million is available in 2010-11 and this is the sum which we would normally expect to be carried into the next spending review settlement.

"However, councils estimate that it will cost 55m to deliver the commitments in 2011-12, leaving a potential shortfall of 15 million."

It concludes with the recommendation that Cosla writes formally to ministers.

It states: "While we are aware of the financial realities, we recommend that we press ministers to provide additional resources in this spending review to cover unfunded set-up costs and that they should also provide local government with reassurance that the shortfall in recurring costs (ie the 15m) will be addressed in the next spending review."

Karen Whitefield, Labour's early years spokeswoman, described the policy as a "cruel deception". She said: "Triumphantly telling parents they had delivered free school meals for every P1-3 child from the start of the new school year and then failing to put enough money on the table to fund those meals, this is unacceptable."

A spokesman for teaching union the EIS said: "This cannot become a party-political issue or a point of contention between national and local government – everyone must work together to ensure that the provision of free, healthy school meals of high quality can be delivered to primary children."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Under the concordat between the Scottish Government and Cosla, sufficient funding is included in the local government settlement to extend entitlement to free school lunches."