Gimmick or godsend?

This academic year sees the introduction of free school meals for primary school children aged five to seven years. While for many families it will be a huge help financially there are concerns about how it will be funded and if it has been properly budgeted for.

Should every family instantly qualify for free school meals based on the age of their children rather than their income? Should it be for those on lower incomes rather than those with children in the right age bracket?

Sarah, a mum of four children from Romford, says, “To be honest we struggle to afford meals and to even send them a packed lunch now. We are a low earning family. I think there should be a cut off though like tax credits and child benefit.”

Kate, mum of three from Lancashire, believes, “I think it’s only fair that all children under seven get the free meals regardless of parents’ income. We get absolutely no help elsewhere, yet we are far from well off.

“Just because my other half is in the higher tax bracket doesn’t mean we are rolling in cash. It’s so frustrating being blocked from all these benefits, especially when you contribute 40 per cent of all your earnings.”

Under the new policy an extra 1.55m children will be entitled to a free hot meal every lunchtime, bringing the eligible total to more than 1.9m. The scheme is expected to save parents about ÂŁ400 a year per child.

Steve Turner, Unite assistant general secretary, says, “The fact is so many millions of families are struggling on low pay that they need this. Income inequality is lived out in the classroom. Parents can’t pay for school trips, they’re being forced to take out payday loans to buy uniform. Also the stigma attached to free school meals for children from lower income families will disappear with universal free school meals.”

But Steve added; “The Lib Dems should not be using our children’s wellbeing as a cynical cheap bid to gain votes at the next election. Should the Tories win, this benefit is likely to be cut.”

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg launched the plan at last autumn’s Liberal Democrat conference.

Tristram Hunt MP, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said, “Nick Clegg has over-promised and under-delivered. Many schools have had to raid their budgets to pay for a policy that was introduced on a political timetable. As with tuition fees, this is yet more evidence that the Lib Dems cannot be trusted to do as they say.”

The Local Government Association (LGA) said government funding to bring school kitchens up to scratch had fallen short in almost half of local authority areas in England. The shortfall among councils that responded to the survey totaled ÂŁ25.8m.

Kevin Courtney, Deputy General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said, “When the announcement about free school meals was originally made, the NUT said the government must ensure that enough additional resources are provided to schools to meet the capital and staffing costs involved.

“It is wrong that local councillors find themselves in the invidious position of having to cut other essential services like school maintenance to meet the cost of the introduction of free school meals.”

The government says packed lunches were nearly always less nutritious than cooked meals, adding that free lunches for all children would raise academic standards.

Some schools are in buildings where a new kitchen cannot be added on. Some don’t have enough space, either for kitchens and storage, or for dining, or both. Earlier this year, Dominic Cummings, former special adviser to the then education secretary Michael Gove, denounced free school meals as a gimmick and said the plan had been drawn up “on the back of a fag packet”.