Free meal grants end for 3,000 primary schools
Sharon Hodgson, shadow minister for children, has accused the government of ’quietly’ cutting the funding supplied to small struggling schools to provide free hot meals, meaning almost 3,000 primaries will struggle to offer the service.
The funding was originally intended as ‘additional support’ for the financial demand of free school meals to all, however, many primaries are expected to suffer the loss of the financial aid. Chancellor George Osborne confirmed that funding for the Conservative free school meal policy would continue in November.
While the Department for Education (DfE) did maintain that the extra £2,300 issued to each school annually was a ‘temporary’ measure, critics have raised concerns that schools will have to raid other areas of their budgets to continue to provide the meals.
In an interview with the Independent, Hodgson said: "Once again David Cameron's rhetoric doesn't match the reality. School budgets are already under a lot of pressure with rising costs and shrinking budgets. Small schools are often especially hard pressed.
"The Prime Minister should act to ensure the education of children, and the financial viability of small schools is not put at risk."
Currently, all schools receive £2.30 per meal to help deliver former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s pledge for Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM). Last year, an extra £3,000 per year was granted to 2,867 smaller schools to help them cope with the financial demand of UIFSM. However, this amount was reduced to £2,300 this year.
However, a DfE spokesperson argued it had been ‘clear’ with small schools that the extra grant for free school meals had a time limit.
They said: ”To help small schools with the transition to universal infant free school meals, we paid them an extra £32.5m over two years – over and above the £600m we have spent on the policy as a whole so far.”
"We have always been clear that this funding was always intended to be temporary to help small schools to put their meals service on a more sustainable footing."
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