Glasgow City Council votes to write off £300k of school meal debt
Reserve funds will be used to clear unpaid debts, which totals an estimated £300,000
Last updated 30th Mar 2023
Unpaid school meal debts in Glasgow are to be scrapped after Glasgow City Council voted in favour of the move today.
SNP Councillor Christina Cannon proposed the motion after working alongside trade unions, who campaigned on the issue.
The move had cross-party support in the chamber and was unanimously agreed at a full council meeting this morning.
Reserves will be used to clear the debts that parents owe for school meals, which is estimated to be around £300,000.
School meals policy is also to improve, meaning no child will be turned away if they cannot afford food.
'No child should be going hungry'
Councillor Cannon wrote on Twitter: "As an Administration and as a Council, we are determined to do whatever is in our gift to protect Glaswegians from the effects of the cost of living crisis.
"We know the challenges people in the city are facing and want to respond to the issues young people themselves have highlighted, most recently through the Health & Wellbeing census.
"No child in the city should be going hungry.
"Although some pupils don’t fall within the criteria for free school meals, this doesn’t mean their families aren’t struggling with rising costs.
"We hope by doing this we will provide an extra layer of support for families."
'We'll continue the campaign'
Unite, the STUC and the Together Against Debt campaign protested outside of the city council chambers in recent weeks, demanding the Council "feed the wains" and end means-based school meals.
Clare Peden from Unite said: "We're ecstatic that our campaign has pushed the council into eradicating school meal debt in Glasgow.
"At a time when families are really struggling with the cost of living crisis, I don't think it can be overstated just how much of a difference it will make.
"We've seen a rise in child hunger and in poverty - about 70% of those living in poverty are working families.
"This is a wealthy city and there's no reason why kids should be going hungry.
"But we'll be continuing the campaign for free school meals for all primary school-aged children until the provision is extended from primary five pupils up to primary seven pupils."
Conservative John Daly backed the motion: "We can all come together and agree this is absolutely the right thing to do, it's not a party political issue and nor should it be.
"It's terribly important that we address the causes of this to mitigate against the problem
"I learned about the term 'hanger' I'm of a certain generation - but it's true, if you skip breakfast or prolong lunch, you can't be as productive.
"Hungry children aren't productive children.
"There will absolutely be an impact on attainment if children are well fed."