Regan welcomes victory in scrapping School Meal Debt campaign

ALBA Party’s Holyrood Leader Ash Regan MSP has welcomed the Scottish Government’s announcement that it will provide extra funding to Councils to scrap School Meal Debt.

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament last week Ms Regan pressed the Scottish Government to provide extra funding in the upcoming budget to scrap the debt.

The families of 30,000 children, which had risen by 9,000 from Spring, are in debt to local authorities.

The threshold for free school meals has risen slowly over the past two decades and sits well behind historic inflation. Adjusting for inflation, the threshold to be eligible for free school meals of £13,230 in 2002 would be the equivalent of £27,855 today, however, it currently sits at just £18,725.

Welcoming the campaign victory Alba Party Holyrood leader Ash Regan MSP said:

“It is good to see the Scottish Government finally taking this much needed action which means families will have one less bill to worry about. I urge Scotland’s Local Authorities to now act and immediately cancel the debt and not wait until next year to do so.

“Last week when I asked the Scottish Government to do what it has announced today I also highlighted the need to speed up the roll out of universal free school meals, otherwise today’s announcement will only be a temporary reprieve. The Scottish Government should follow up on this announcement by bringing forward a draft budget this week that funds the expansion of free school meals to all children.”