£27.6m school meal deal welcomed by Borders council bosses

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced that pupils, sent home in late March as the national coronavirus lockdown commenced and not due to return to classrooms until Tuesday, August 11 – will continue to get meals paid for throughout their summer holidays.

That extra funding, worth £27.6m, will ensure that no pupils normally fed for free at school – all youngsters in years P1 to P3 and almost 22% of those in years P4 to P7 – will have to risk going hungry during the holidays or face seeing their parents or carers left out of pocket.

Ms Sturgeon’s promise of funding came ahead of a U-turn by the UK Government following a campaign by the England and Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford.

That move has been welcomed by Scottish Borders Council leader Shona Haslam.

“This was something that as a council we were planning to do anyway, so it is great that the Scottish Government are working with us to provide the funding for this measure,” said the Tweeddale East councillor.

“It’s the right thing to do in these unprecedented times.”

Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale MSP Christine Grahame has also welcomed the move, saying: “These are challenging times and unprecedented times. That’s why the Scottish Government is working hard to ensure families are supported over the summer holidays.

“I know that people in my constituency are under pressure just now, and this funding, on top of the £350m we have already made available, shows we are doing all we can to help households get by.

“Meanwhile in England, a footballer has shown more leadership in tackling child poverty in a matter of days than this Tory government has in a decade.”

Fellow Scottish National Party MSP Paul Wheelhouse, a list representative for South Scotland based in Hawick, added: “I am delighted that the Scottish Government will continue to support the families of school pupils across the Borders through the summer months during the pandemic.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has really hit people’s personal finances hard, and the last thing parents needed was the additional cost of lunches for their kids who are on holiday from school from this month.”

“The new funding will ensure that no Borders pupil who normally gets free meals will risk going without a decent lunch during the holidays and that no parents or carers are out of pocket as a result of providing it or having to skip meals themselves.”

About 175,000 pupils nationwide are currently being given free school meals or vouchers or cash to pay for food. That number is up by 53,000 since the start of the coronavirus outbreak due to its impact on families’ incomes and financial circumstances.