| Councillor George Regan was responding to the announcement last week by Scottish Government education secretary Fiona Hyslop that, from August 2010, all P1-P3 pupils will be entitled to a daily free school meal.
It is claimed the funding for the project is already contained within a concordat between the Government and local authorities.
However, a number of councils have indicated they do not have the money to be able to pay for providing free meals.
Speaking on behalf of Dundee City Council’s Labour-Liberal Democrat administration, Mr Regan said there are increasing cost pressures on the council which could affect the ability to introduce the scheme.
He pointed out that the scheme is not due to come into operation for almost two years and, with the current volatile economic situation, the council did not know what its financial position would be then.
“We are facing severe budgetary pressures across council departments at the moment and we are not presently able to say if we will be able to implement the free school meals scheme,” he said.
Mr Regan said those pressures included spiralling energy charges and increasing costs in demand-led social work services such as adult care and placing young people in external residential schools.
At the same time the economic uncertainty meant the council is experiencing a reduction in some of its income streams including revenue from charges for building warrants and planning applications.
Recently, administration leader Kevin Keenan highlighted those same financial pressures and said they placed a question mark over whether Dundee would be able to deliver another council tax freeze next year.
The city council has managed to keep the tax frozen for the past two years but Mr Keenan said that could not be guaranteed for a third year in a row.
Council leaders will meet to discuss the Government’s free school meals policy after some local authorities claimed they will not be able to fund the meals.
Angus, North Lanarkshire and Inverclyde councils have said cuts will need to be made in other areas to fulfil the pledge.
Labour claimed that 16 of Scotland’s 32 councils cannot afford to introduce the scheme without extra cash.
But local government body Cosla welcomed the roll-out, stating that the funding was included in the concordat with the government.
The head of the umbrella group, Pat Watters, is reported to have written to council leaders, warning that by claiming they cannot fund the meals, they are threatening the credibility of the body. |
