Free meal plans 'will mean cuts'

The Scottish Government wants free lunches for all P1 to P3 pupils

Education services will have to be cut to foot the bill for free school meals for five to seven-year-olds, North Lanarkshire Council has warned.

Education convenor Jim Logue estimated it would cost the local authority £1m a year to implement the policy unveiled by the Scottish Government.

He warned that services like breakfast clubs could be axed.

However, the body that represents local authorities, Cosla, said councils did have the budgets to pay for the scheme.

The free school meals policy was announced on Thursday following a year-long £5m pilot scheme in Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire, East Ayrshire, Fife and the Borders.

That scheme, which involved 35,000 pupils, saw the take-up of school meals rise from 53% to 75%.

Breakfast clubs

Mr Logue urged the Scottish Government to provide the funding for the Scotland-wide free school meals scheme.

He said: "I am calling on the Scottish Government to meet the full cost of this policy if they want to see it delivered.

"It's simply not good enough to put the burden on local government."

The education convenor added: "We may have to consider axing the council's breakfast clubs to pay for the SNP's policy.

North Lanarkshire Council simply won't be able to pay the estimated £1 million cost of free school meals without making cuts to other education services Cllr Jim Logue North Lanarkshire Council

"This will deny some of the poorest children in North Lanarkshire access to the most important meal of the day."

But Cosla spokesperson, Pat Watters, told BBC Scotland that funding was already in place for the policy.

He said: "This money was part of the three year spending review. The government provided money for the pilot and an expansion of that pilot.

"From August 2010 there is £40m in the budget to provide free school meals to primaries one, two and three."

He added: "There is no reason why anyone should have to cut anything to fund this. This is a government funded project."

A Scottish Government spokesman said ministers agreed in their concordat with local government that all primary one to three pupils would be entitled to free school meals from August 2010.

He added: "The Scottish Government has provided local authorities with record levels of funding - a total package of £34.9bn over the next three years.

"The timetable for implementation will give local authorities ample time to carefully plan for the introduction of free school meals."