CHILDREN can be cruel – especially towards those who are a bit different or a bit less fortunate.

So it is not surprising that some children from deprived families in York may not be claiming the free lunches they are entitled to because they don’t want their classmates to know.

Now education bosses in the city are spending £60,000 on a new “cashless” payment system for school meals, so it is harder for teenagers to tell who is paying and who isn’t.

The system is being introduced at three York secondary schools – Millthorpe, Canon Lee and All Saints. And Millthorpe headteacher Trevor Burton says early indications are that it is working, with a noticeable increase in the uptake of school meals.

What a great idea. For some children from deprived backgrounds, school lunch may be the best chance of a healthy, nutritious cooked meal. It is desperately sad that they may be missing out from a misplaced sense of shame. If this scheme works, it would be good to see it rolled out to more schools.

On a related issue, the city council has announced it is to scrap cash grants to those who apply for help to its poverty fund, and replace them with vouchers.

We can see the logic: this will ensure that grants from the York Financial Assistance Scheme not only go to the people that need them, but will be used for the purpose they were intended for, such as food or clothing.

Some recipients may feel the change is insulting, and that they are being treated like children, but the council has a responsibility to use its money well, and in the current climate we think it is probably a sensible move.