Free school meals in holidays
The families of many Perth and Kinross children will continue to receive payments for free school meals during the summer holidays.
Since lockdown began and schools closed, the parents of children eligible for free school meals have received fortnightly payments from Perth and Kinross Council direct to their bank accounts.
There are more than 1700 children in Perth and Kinross who qualify for free school meals because their families are in receipt of qualifying benefits.
Perth and Kinross Council has now committed to making these payments for the duration of the summer holidays.
Sheena Devlin, executive director of education and children’s services with the local authority, said:“We know the current lockdown is making life difficult for many families and want to help where we can.
“Addressing food insecurity in this way not only helps ensure our children and young people continue to enjoy a healthy diet, it also relieves some of the stress for parents over the summer holidays.
“We will also continue to make payments when schools return in August, although these will be adjusted to reflect the days children attend school.”
Perth and Kinross Council will receive £214,000 funding from the Scottish Government to support the continued provision of free school meals during the summer holiday period, and £381,000 for the wider provision of food support.
Perthshire South and Kinross-shire MSP Roseanna Cunningham said the support would make a“huge difference”to families.