North-east council sets out free school meals arrangements
North-east education chiefs have set out revised arrangements for school meal payments after pupils began to return to the classroom.
Free School Meals
Sturgeon urged to bring in policy of free school meals for all now
Nicola Sturgeon has been challenged to find cash in the budget to give all primary school pupils free school meals.
Government ‘missed opportunities to reduce cost to taxpayer of voucher scheme’
The Department for Education (DfE) failed to renegotiate the terms of a contract with the provider of free school meal vouchers and secure better value for money for the taxpayer, MPs have warned.
Gavin Williamson’s ‘incompetence’ has left children hungry – Labour
Children have gone hungry because of Gavin Williamson’s “incompetence” as Education Secretary, Labour has said, ahead of a Commons debate on free school meal provision.
Kate Green calls for Gavin Williamson to resign over free school meals row
Shadow education secretary Kate Green has called for Gavin Williamson to resign over the latest free school meals scandal, saying he “plainly isn’t up to the job”.
Government should trust parents with direct cash for free school meals – Labour
The Government should trust parents and give them cash directly for free school meals instead of vouchers, Labour has demanded.
Rashford calls for review of Government free school meal policy
Footballer Marcus Rashford has stepped up pressure on Boris Johnson over free school meals in England with a call for an urgent review of the Government’s policy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Patel: Action should be taken against company behind ‘appalling’ food parcels
Action should be taken against the food provider which compiled “appalling” free school meal parcels for families, the Home Secretary has said.
Free school meal parcels – key questions answered
Free school meals are back in focus after pictures of meagre food parcels sent to families were widely shared on social media.
Families receiving ‘degrading’ food parcels treated ‘like dirt’, says mother
Families given “degrading” food parcels as part of the Government’s free school meals programme are being treated “like dirt”, with one mother taking steps to pawn her jewellery to pay for meals.
Contents of some food parcels sent to families ‘unacceptable’, says Number 10
Downing Street has said the contents of some free school meal food parcels sent to families are “completely unacceptable” and the Government is looking into the issue.
Aberdeenshire council prepares to make £100 payment to struggling families
A north-east council is preparing to help out people struggling financially with the pandemic.
Plans to make free school meals eligible to every primary school pupil welcomed
Two north-east MSPs have welcomed plans to make free school meals eligible all year round to every primary school pupil.
George The Poet: Free school meals debate sounds like it is from Victorian era
The debate over the Government’s provision of free school meals sounds like it is from Victorian times, according to George The Poet.
Free school meals row: Scottish Conservative MPs will not vote on England-only matters
Scottish Conservative MPs will not take part in House of Commons votes that only apply to England after Douglas Ross came under fire for failing to support free school meals south of the border.
Douglas Ross: My Tory colleagues are wrong — free school meals do not breed dependency
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross moved to distance his party from the row erupting south of the border by declaring free school meals for children will not encourage dependency.
North-east Conservative MPs silent over why they voted against giving free school meals to poor children
Two north-east Conservative MPs who voted against plans to extend free school meals to poor families over the winter today declined to comment when asked to explain their reasons.
Aberdeen councillors agree to extend free school meals to more families
Councillors have today agreed to extend Aberdeen's free school meal programme.
Council urged to extend free school meals for Aberdeen pupils
Aberdeen's policy on free school meals could be extended to more families to mitigate the rollout of Universal Credit.
Concerns north-east school children missing meals during coronavirus lockdown
Concerns have been raised that hundreds of families in Moray could be missing out on free school meals during the coronavirus lockdown.
North-east families in line to receive school meals grant
Families who usually qualify for free school meals are to receive a payment to cover the cost of them from today.
Steps taken to boost number of families signing up for free school meals in Aberdeen
Steps have been taken to boost the number of families signing up for free school meals across Aberdeen.
Consultation launched as free school holiday meals for Aberdeen pupils approved
Aberdeen city council has launched a consultation after being given approval for a major school meals scheme.