Scottish government faces defeat in free school meals vote

The Scottish government is expected to be defeated in a vote to expand free school meals to all primary school pupils.

First Minister John Swinney has said he would not be able to fulfil the pledge for a “universal” rollout of the benefit, and instead would expand it only to P6 and 7 pupils in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment.

The position will be challenged in a debate led by the Scottish Conservatives on Wednesday, though the government is not obliged to take action on the results.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said the government was committed to the universal expansion of free school meals in primary schools but the funding was not available due to significant financial pressures.

Free school meals are provided for all pupils in P1 to P5, but last year former First Minister Humza Yousaf said he wanted every primary pupil to receive the benefit by the end of the parliamentary term in 2026.

The Scottish government said it would not be able to keep this commitment in its latest programme for government due to “prolonged Westminster austerity and record high inflation”.

Ministers said they would need to plug a £256m funding gap to provide free meals to all primary pupils, which it said can cost families £400 a year.

Scottish Conservative education spokesperson Liam Kerr has submitted a motion for debate, calling on the government to give free school meals to all primary pupils this parliamentary session “as promised”.

He told MSPs the SNP had “shamefully betrayed Scotland’s poorest pupils”.

An amendment to the motion proposed by the government commits the government to providing free meals for all pupils “when the budgetary positions allows”.

A proposed Scottish Labour amendment expresses regret at the SNP’s “repeated broken promises to Scotland’s children and young people”.

The government lost its majority in parliament after ending a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens. It means the SNP are unable to vote down or amend the motion without opposition MSPs either siding with them or abstaining.

The Scottish Conservatives have also put forward a motion calling on the government to reverse its decision to end a scheme that scrapped peak-time rail fares.

The pilot, which saw ticket prices subsidised by the government and standardised across the day, ended in September following what ministers called “limited success”.

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said there had been an increase in passenger levels of about 6.8% during the pilot but it would need to be 10% in order for the policy to be self-financing.

MSPs will vote on the motions at about 17:00.

Children’s Commissioner Nicola Killean said the rollback on universal free school meals was a “broken promise to children” and warned that the move would only exacerbate stigma and shame around them.

Ms Killean said that going to school hungry could “severely impact development in childhood and into adulthood”.

She said: “Providing access to universal school meals is vital: it helps reduce stigma and reinforces the understanding of food as a human right.

“We know that children who experience food insecurity are more likely to experience poor health, obesity and malnutrition, as well as other challenges to their physical and mental development.

“One of the greatest barriers to the take up of school meals are feelings of shame and stigma, and only providing meals to Primary 6 and 7 in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment just exacerbates that stigma.”

Ms Killean went on to say she had heard stories of some children buying extra food to share with their poorer classmates, while teachers were also stepping in to help those who could not eat.

Labour’s education spokesperson Pam Duncan Glancy said the public was “tired of excuses” from the Scottish government, which she accused of failing to meet its manifesto pledges.

Scottish Greens education spokesman Ross Greer called the government’s decision on the policy a “shameful U-turn”.

He said: “The Scottish Greens fought hard to secure expansion of universal free school meals because we know how important they are for tackling child poverty and inequality.

“We were proud to secure the inclusion of all Primary 4 and 5 pupils and the commitment to include Primary 6 and 7, so we are deeply disappointed to see the SNP drop that commitment at the first opportunity.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat communities spokesman Willie Rennie said ministers should not make promises they cannot keep on efforts to improve child poverty.

He added: “Nicola Sturgeon, Humza Yousaf and John Swinney all committed to universal free school meals for primary pupils, but they have all failed to deliver.”

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said she did not contest the principle of the Conservative motion on free school meals but disagreed about how the government could afford universal coverage.

She told BBC Scotland News the funds were not available from within the education budget and the government was targeting support at those “most in need”.

The SNP minister said there was uncertainty about funding from the UK government, which is due to announce its budget next month, and accused the Labour administration of imposing austerity.

She added: “They don’t need to do that.

“It harms the value of the Scottish government budget and of course it does mean that we’re not able to fulfil commitments such as universal free school meal provision.”