Labour abstention further muddles school meals issue

19/11/2008

Commenting after Labour MSPs abstained at Education Committee on the instrument relating to free school meals and therefore allowed the instrument to pass, Liz Smith MSP, Shadow Minister for Children, Schools & Skills and a member of the Committee, said:

“I was surprised by Labour's abstention given the line they have pursued throughout this debate. That line persistently confirmed that their members are not convinced that the policy of universal free school meals for all primaries 1-3 is, in effect, going to specifically target the children who are most in need of help. The Minister confirmed at today's committee meeting that approximately three quarters of children who would, in theory, receive free school meals,  would not actually be those most in need and that is why the Scottish Conservatives and Lib Dems voted against this instrument. I thought Labour agreed with that, but the real proof will be in the full parliamentary debate next week.

"The fact remains that the local government concordat, much loved by the minority SNP government, is grossly misleading. It states that ‘Assuming the legislation is passed, local authorities will provide free schools meals to all P1 to P3 pupils from August 2010’ yet the facts are somewhat different. The provisions of the Instrument passed do not compel local authorities to give every pupil in these years a free school meal. They merely allow councils discretion whether to provide them free of charge. Councils will not be required by law to provide them without charge. This is not the picture that has been painted thus far, and it shows how the SNP has put the ‘con’ into the concordat. (see notes)

"Scottish Conservatives are demanding that parliament must be given a full debate. These are very tough economic times and many are questioning whether £40m a year of scarce education resource is best spent on extending free school meals to those families who can afford them. It is absolutely right that those children most in need receive free school meals, but there are better ways of spending this extra money.”