I have to reply to Cllr Howson’s letter (July 28) concerning free school meals for all. I think that I am the “leading Labour Councillor” that he was referring to.

Every child needs, and deserves, a hot nourishing meal every day. Families who cannot pay need to be supported but, for families who can afford to pay – they should be required to and I am sure that the majority of them would be happy to do so.

It was agreed by the majority of the members of the Education Scrutiny Committee that the new coalition government’s proposals had been introduced with indecent haste. The additional monies given by the Government to implement the scheme are probably insufficient and the County Council might find itself with a shortfall this year of £500,000 or more. Remember, it is not just the cost of school meals – it is the provision of new kitchen equipment, new kitchens in some cases and, of course, additional staff. The exact amount will not be known for a few months. Any shortfall will have to be found by taking money from somewhere else in the budget for Children Education and Families – a budget already stretched to its limits.

Please note that government funding is not guaranteed beyond 2015/16. Any subsequent funding will be considered as part of the next spending review.

The new proposals encourage local authorities to consider using their school maintenance and improvement budgets to support the delivery of free school meals, and academies should consider their approach to future capital maintenance funding.

This means that the transfer of funding to free school meals is, inevitably, going to have a severe impact on funding for other very important school projects.

I and my Labour group are determined to ensure that our youngsters get the best education we can provide and, as a result, the best life chances that we can offer them. But we also want to ensure that limited resources are used in the best way possible to achieve this and free meals for all is not the way we would have liked to see our future money spent.

Cllr Gill Sanders
Shadow Cabinet Member for Education, Oxfordshire County Council
County Councillor for Rose Hill and Littlemore

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