The funding of the roll-out of universal free school meals in York is yet to be detailed by the council’s ruling Labour group, the Liberal Democrat opposition leader has said.
York Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Nigel Ayre said Labour were yet to provide details about how it would fund a roll-out beyond the two pilots currently taking place.
Labour Children and Education Executive Member Cllr Bob Webb said the Liberal Democrats’ opposition to the project was cynical and politically-motivated.
Free school meals are also being offered at Burton Green Primary School, with researchers from the universities of Leeds and York set to analyse the results from the pilots.
Their findings will be presented later this year and a decision will be taken on how the scheme moves forward.
Cllr Webb, teachers and pupils at Westfield all hailed it as a success, saying it was improving participation in lessons and aiding children’s long term development.
But Cllr Webb told the Local Democracy Reporting Service a difficult financial picture nationally meant the council was not banking on Government support to expand it.
Cllr Bob Webb
The council has spent £100,000 on the Westfield pilot so far and funding is guaranteed until the end of the current Labour administration’s term in 2027.
But rolling it out across York’s 57 primary schools is estimated to cost around £3 million at a time when the council has already had to make budget cutbacks elsewhere.
The rest of the money is currently coming from donations to the council’s Hungry Minds fundraising drive.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Ayre said a national approach to deliver free school meals was needed and his party would be pushing for the Labour Government to deliver it.
Cllr Nigel Ayre
The opposition leader said: “Labour promised at the last set of local elections an unfunded commitment to provide free school meals for every primary school child, they have yet to provide the detail of how they will fund this beyond the two trials.
“Only the Liberal Democrats at the general election ran on a manifesto with a costed plan to deliver free school meals for every primary school child and for every child from households that receive Universal Credit who currently miss out on free school meals at secondary school.”
But Cllr Webb said Liberal Democrat opposition to the pilots came from a desire to see Labour’s efforts fail.
The executive member said: “It’s really very cynical of the Liberal Democrats to want to stop something that’s supporting children and families.
“They want to gum up the works and it’s a shame that we can’t have a consensus on this.”
Nationally, Labour pledged to introduce free primary school breakfast clubs which the local party has welcomed.
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats also jointly supported a council motion calling on the Government to introduce free school meals at a national level earlier this year.
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