£1.5 million funding to tackle school meal debt

The funding is now available for local councils.

The First Minister says this will ensure no child is penalised over their school meals due to the cost-of-living crisis. 

School meal debt is ultimately a matter for local authorities, but the Scottish Government is making the emergency one-off funding pot available in direct response to the struggles of families in recent times. 

Local authorities who apply to the pot will receive support to clear school meal debt accrued to March 31, 2024. This means that families with debt need not apply themselves. 

All pupils in primary one to five in Scotland, and all children in special schools, currently receive free school meals, saving families who take up the offer an average of £400 per child per year. 

In 2024-25 the Scottish Government is increasing its investment to extend this free provision to all pupils in primary 6 and 7 whose families receive the Scottish Child Payment.

The end goal is to have universal provision in all Scottish primary schools.

John Swinney said: “As First Minister, my ambition is to eradicate child poverty – and today I am pleased that we are continuing progress to ensure that no child or their family is penalised for struggling to pay for a school meal during a cost-of-living crisis they did not create.

“School meal debt can have a real impact on the wellbeing of families and can serve to stigmatise children whose families are going through challenging times.  Local authorities can now bid to receive funding from a one-off Scottish Government fund which will support them to remove the impact of school meal debt.

“As a result of a decade and a half of austerity and a cost-of-living crisis caused by the UK Government, too many families are struggling to make ends meet.

“I am determined that we support our children to have the best start in life – that is why we are expanding free school meal provision to ensure every pupil can have a nutritious meal at school and ensuring no child is penalised simply because their family is struggling.”