Funding row as school meal prices rise today

School dinners in Perth and Kinross will go up in price today for the first time in six years. A senior SNP councillor said the increase was “regrettable” but “unfortunately necessary” due to rising production costs and inflation.

But a Labour councillor has blamed a shortfall of at least £500,000 in Scottish Government funding to provide free school meals to all P1-P5 pupils.

Alasdair Bailey said: “This is not free school meals for P1-5s, it’s a case of eat now pay later.”

The cost of a primary school meal goes up today from £2.15 to £2.25, a secondary meal from £2.30 to £2.60 and an adult meal from £3.70 to £5.

At the budget meeting earlier this year the SNP administration rejected immediately imposing the steeper increase on pupil meals proposed by council officers – 75p for primary school meals and 85p for secondaries – but approved the £1.30 rise for adults.

At the February 28 meeting, council leader Grant Laing instead said his SNP administration would reduce the increase on primary meals in 2024-25 and phase the secondary school increase in over three years “to manage the impact on families”.

Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) has said the rise is needed because of “the significant impact of inflation on food and operational costs involved in delivering the school meal service”. It is the first increase in school meal charges across the area since 2018.

But Labour councillor Mr Bailey criticised both the increase and the slimmeddown menu.

He said: “It’s not only the prices going up – children will notice that the range of options available to them have decreased from today, especially in secondary. Plus we’re told that there will be fewer ‘high-cost items’ in the meals.

“This worrying shrinkflation of the school menu combined with the price hike saves the council over £500,000 per year.”

Mr Bailey blamed the price hikes and reduced menu on a government funding shortfall. At this year’s budget, he brought an invoice of £500,000 for the Scottish Government to fully reimburse PKC for the cost of delivering the SNP manifesto promise of free school meals to all P1-5s.

He said: “It turns out the amount PKC receives from the Scottish Government for the ‘free’ meals falls between £500,000 and £1 million short of the cost of providing them, depending on how they’re accounted for.

“It strikes me therefore that this is not free school meals for P1-5s, it’s a case of eat now pay later as the council is forced to hike prices and decrease quality higher up the school in order to deliver on the government’s universal free school meal policy.

“That’s why I brought an invoice to the council meeting back in February.”

He added: “I’m told by officers that it’s not legally possible to send that invoice to ministers but I really do think that they should pay PKC the full cost of delivering on their election manifesto promises.”

SNP councillor John Rebbeck, who convenes the learning and families committee, insisted the price rises were “regrettable” but “unfortunately necessary”.

|The Perth City North councillor added: “It’s important to note that most of our primary school pupils and many of our secondary school pupils will pay nothing at all for their school meals and I look forward to the Scottish Government further expanding the provision of free school meals to all primary school children in the near future.”