Children’s charities call on Holyrood Committee to back free school meals roll out

In evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Education Committee today children’s charities called on MSPs to support a proposed Order that will enable councils to provide free school meals to all P1 to P3 pupils.

Children in Scotland, the national agency for voluntary, statutory and professional organisations working with children and families, said that they “unequivocally welcome” the proposal, whilst the Child Poverty Action Group highlighted the “extraordinary success” of pilot free school meal programmes in five Scottish local authorities.

Speaking after giving evidence, John Dickie, Head of the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland said;

“We should not lose sight of how extraordinarily successful the universal approach to free school meals has been. The pilots have massively boosted the number of children getting a healthy meal at school, relieved financial burdens on hard pressed families and led to reported improvements in attitudes to healthy eating at home. This proposed legislative Order is crucial to ensure that children and families across Scotland now benefit from this popular policy.”

A universal approach to free school meals in primary school is supported by children and families charities such as Children 1st, Save the Children, Action for Children (NCH), Children in Scotland and One Parents Families Scotland as well as trade unions and professional associations including the STUC, EIS, Association of Headteachers and Deputes Teachers (AHDS), RCN (Scotland), Scottish Women’s Convention and Unison. Other supporters include the Poverty Alliance, members of the Scottish Churches Social Inclusion Network, the Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland, health boards and academics.

Notes for editors

Evidence submitted by children’s charities to the Scottish Parliament can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/ellc/papers-08/edp08-26.pdf

For further details contact John Dickie, Head of CPAG in Scotland, on 07795 340 618