Inverness councillor calls for changes to Highland free school meals provision during Covid-19 coronavirus crisis
Some of the region’s poorest children are being left without food, a councillor has claimed, due to an “unworkable” free meals scheme introduced by Highland Council.
Inverness Ness-side councillor Ron Macwilliam wants the system of providing parents with a weekly £15 voucher scrapped in favour of direct payments to bank accounts.
Once schools were closed it was left to individual councils to decide how to continue providing for pupils entitled to free meals.
Cllr Macwilliam says the voucher scheme – which relies on parents providing an email address and limits them to shopping in particular stores – is leaving some 300 children without the support they need.
“Frankly, this scheme is unworkable,” he said. “I have heard from parents who are simply not able to get to the shops that the vouchers can be spent in, which include luxury food stores Marks and Spencer and John Lewis, which makes this all the more ridiculous.”
Parents can also redeem the vouchers at Tesco, Morrisons and Asda, while those living in rural areas can use them in any store that offers Pay Point services, but Cllr Macwilliam also objects to the fact the vouchers specifically prohibit purchase of items such as alcohol and tobacco. The idea that parents whose children are in receipt of free school meals are so morally lacking that they cannot be trusted to feed their children is both insulting and discriminatory,” he said.
“It would have been much fairer to do what they have done in the Western Isles and make a payment into parents’ bank accounts. Instead, we are asking parents to make unnecessary journeys to places they may not normally shop. All the while, 300 children are still going without because the council does not hold the correct details.”
Highland Council convener Bill Lobban defended the scheme.
He said: “The welfare of our families is always a priority and, as government advice changed, we acted quickly to provide e-vouchers to children in P1-3 who receive school clothing grants and pupils in P4-S6 who receive free school meals.
“Letters were issued, by first-class post, to every parent where no email address was held, asking them to contact the council by return so that e-vouchers could be issued.
“Parents who haven’t replied to our letter should do so as quickly as possible, as we cannot provide vouchers to them until they reply to our letter. “
Any parent in need of support should email School.FoodVouchers@highland.gov.uk or call 0300 303 1362.
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