Response to Eat Out scheme in Tayside is mixed

Some of Tayside’s school canteens will not be joining the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

The UK Government launched the scheme offering a 50% discount to anyone eating out in participating restaurants – which can include school canteens and workplaces.

After giving the idea food for thought, Perth and Kinross and Angus councils have decided against it, for now.

Neighbouring Fife and Dundee councils have found the idea more palatable.

A spokesman for the Perthbased authority said Eat Out to Help Out was designed to help the retail food sector to recover rather than the school meals service.

The scheme operates every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until August 31 in participating UK restaurants.

If the councils had opted to join the scheme, pupils and staff would have received the appropriate discount when purchasing food at school.

A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson said: “With a currently limited lifespan for the scheme (due to finish operating at the end of August 2020), the wide-ranging changes we have had to make to our school meals services in line with national Covid-19 measures, and the further significant changes that would be required to deliver Eat Out to Help Out in schools, we have decided not to take the scheme forward.”

The council’s position may change if the initiative was to run beyond August.

Dundee City Council announced that it was implementing the scheme and credit will be applied to Parent Pay accounts and reduced cost will be applied to NEC cards.

It is hoped that this will encourage pupils and parents to make further use of the meals service that is always available in schools.

Children and families service convener Councillor Stewart Hunter said: “There has been a lot of work undertaken to get our schools reopened and this initiative will help to give families a boost at this time.”