Price freeze recommended for Merthyr school meals

SCHOOL meal prices look set to stay the same in one Welsh county for a second year running – at a time when the number of children eligible for free school meals has risen significantly.

A report to go before Merthyr Tydfil council’s cabinet on Wednesday recommends a price freeze for 2021/2022.

The price of school meals was hiked in April 2019 by 20p across all schools, with prices currently at £2.30 in primary schools and £2.70 in secondary schools.

No price increase was considered during the financial year 2020/21 due to the coronavirus pandemic and the interruption to the service.

The report said the reduced trading days and reduced meal sales because of Covid has had a significant impact on the service budget during 2020/21.

It cited the combination of staff being furloughed, as well as an income loss claim to Welsh Government via the hardship grant, as the necessary factors in needing to balance the books.

The number of pupils eligible for free meals in Merthyr Tydfil has “increased significantly” over the pandemic period, according to the report, with an increase of 24.9% in total pupils eligible in February 2021 compared to January 2020.

The increase in the number of pupils eligible has resulted in the service level agreement (SLA) income from schools being increased by £230,000 (to £1.5m) when setting the budget for 2021/2022.

The main purpose of the school meals SLA is to cater for all pupils eligible for free school meals and the SLA charge covers the cost of providing school meals to these pupils.

The budgeted increase in income from free school meal pupils offsets the loss of income expected from reduced cash sales – due to fewer pupils being required to pay for their meals. However, the report said that if the number of pupils eligible for free school meals continues to increase, this may have a further negative impact on the income recovered via meal sales – and presents a risk to the school meals budget.